Andrej Danko
Andrej Danko (born 12 August 1974) is a Slovak politician who has been Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic from 2016 to 2020 and Chairman of the Slovak National Party since 2012. Biography Born in Revúca, Danko studied at the Faculty of Law at Comenius University in Bratislava. After compulsory military service, he founded several commercial companies and worked as an independent lawyer. During 2006–2010, he was an assistant in the National Council of Slovakia and a member of several parliamentary commissions. He became the first vice-president of the Slovak National Party in 2010. In 2012, he became the chairman of the party after getting support from many of the party's members, succeeding Ján Slota. On 23 March 2016 Danko was elected Speaker of the National Council. In 2016, Danko called for the burqa to be banned in Slovakia. Controversies Promotion to the rank of Captain in Reserve In September 2016, while in his position as the Speaker of the Parliament, Danko was promoted by eight ranks (from OR-4 to O-2), to Captain in Reserve of the Slovak Army, by his friend Peter Gajdoš, the Minister of Defense. The promotion was viewed by some in the media,