Jozef Banáš

Jozef Banáš
Born	(1948-09-27) 27 September 1948 Bratislava
Nationality	Slovak
Occupation(s)	Writer, Journalist, Diplomat, Politician

Jozef Banáš (born 27 September 1948) is a Slovak novelist, journalist, diplomat and politician.

Professional career

• 1972 - graduated at the University of Economics in Bratislava with major in foreign trade
• 1973-1976 - business consultant at Chirana Export Piešťany
• 1977-1992 - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prague
• 1983-1988 - embassy in Berlin, NDR, press attaché
• 1990-1992 - embassy in Wien, deputy chief of mission
• 1992 - Raiffeisenleasing Wien
• 1993-1994 - Tatraleasing Bratislava, chief executive officer
• 1994-2001 - Slovak International Tabak, industrial politics management

Works

• 1978 – Nebráňme vtákom lietať (Don't stop the birds from flying), TV staging, scenario
• 1979 – Čisté vody (Clear waters), TV staging
• 1982 – Mimoriadny rýchlik (Extraordinary express), TV staging, scenario
• 1983 – Kirchhoffov zákon (Kirchoff's Law), TV staging, scenario
• 1985 – Začiatok sezóny (Start of the season), movie scenario
• 1990 – Tréning na štátnika (Training for statesman), theatre comedy
• 1996 – No Comment, theatre comedy
• 2001 – Lepší ako včera (Better than yesterday), book of short stories
• 2006 – Politicum tremens (co-author Bohumil Hanzel), humorous book about National Council of Slovakia
• 2007 – Idioti v politike (Idiots in politics), satiric book about politics
• 2007 – Delírium P. (Delirium P.), theatre comedy
• 2008 – Zóna nadšenia (Zone of enthusiasm), political thriller
• 2009 – Zastavte Dubčeka! (Stop Dubček !), novel
• 2010 – Deň do večnosti (A day to eternity), poetry collection
• 2010—Kód 9 (Code 9), novel
• 2011 – Sezóna potkanov (Rat season), novel
• 2013 – Kód 1 (Code 1), novel
• 2015 – Dementi (Morons), novel about Banáš's readers
• 2020 - Nádherná Smrť v Altaji ("Amazing Death in Altay mountains"), novel

Besides his literal ventures, he is known as a political journalist and essayist. His essays and thoughts gained international acclaim.

Political career

• 1976 - entered Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ)
• 2001-2002 - general secretary of the Aliancia nového občana (ANO) party
• 2002-2006 - elected deputy of National Council as ANO candidate. He was the vice-chairman of Committee on European Integration, member of Safety and Defence and Stable delegation committee of National Council of Slovakia at the parliamentary assembly of European Council, and member of the Foreign affairs committee of National Council and leader of stable delegation of National Council at the parliamentary assembly of NATO.
• 2003 - vice-chairman of The Parliamentary assembly of the European Council
• 2004 - after he didn't become the leader as a candidate for ANO in the European Parliament elections, he announced that he's leaving ANO and will become an independent deputy in the National Council
• 2004 - entered the deputies club of The Slovak Democratic and Christian Union party (SDKÚ)
• 2004 - entered SDKÚ
• 11.11.2004 - elected in Venice as a vice-chairman of The NATO Parliamentary assembly, making him the first Slovak elected in this position

Personal life

He is married and has two daughters. His younger daughter, Adela Vinczeová, is a prominent moderator and entertainer in Slovakia.

References

• Slaboch aj veľký politik. Názory na symbol Pražskej jari sa líšia (in Slovak)
• Josef Banáš at the Berlin International Literature Festival 2010