Peter Žiga

Peter Žiga
Peter Žiga
	Official portrait, 2015
Speaker of the National Council
	Acting
	Assumed office ; 7 April 2024
President	Zuzana Čaputová; Peter Pellegrini
Preceded by	Peter Pellegrini
Deputy Speaker of the National Council
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 25 October 2023 Serving with Andrej Danko, Tibor Gašpar, Michal Šimečka and Ľuboš Blaha
Speaker	Peter Pellegrini; Himself
Member of the National Council
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 21 March 2020
	In office; 8 July 2010 – 4 April 2012
Minister of Economy
	In office; 23 March 2016 – 21 March 2020
Prime Minister	Robert Fico; Peter Pellegrini
Preceded by	Vazil Hudák
Succeeded by	Richard Sulík
Minister of Environment
	In office; 4 April 2012 – 23 March 2016
Prime Minister	Robert Fico
Preceded by	József Nagy
Succeeded by	László Sólymos
Undersecretary of Economy
	In office; 19 July 2006 – 8 July 2010
Minister	Ľubomír Jahnátek
Personal details
Born	27 July 1972 (age 52); Košice, Czechoslovakia; (now Slovakia)
Political party	Voice – Social Democracy (since 2020)
Other political; affiliations	Direction – Social Democracy (until 2020)
Spouse	Renáta Žigová
Children	2
Education	University of Economics in Bratislava

Peter Žiga (born 27 July 1972) is a Slovak politician and businessman, a member of the National Council for Voice – Social Democracy (Hlas-SD), and previously Direction – Social Democracy (SMER-SD). He was formerly Minister of the Environment (2012–2016) and Minister of the Economy (2016–2020) of Slovakia.

Early life and education

Between 1990 and 1995, Žiga studied at the Faculty of Business Administration, University of Economics in Bratislava. After completing his studies, he became a representative and manager in several Slovak and foreign companies, including the largest timber trader company Taper.^[1]

Political career

As Minister of Environment in Fico's Second Cabinet, Žiga was investigated for suspicion of stealing the property of state forests, at the expense of which his private company profited.^[2]

In the 2020 Slovak parliamentary election, Žiga was elected to National Council of Slovakia as a member of Smer. He announced his departure together with nine other deputies later that year.^[3]

When Peter Pellegrini took office as president of Slovakia on 7 April 2024, Žiga was entrusted with the function of Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic.^[4]

Corruption allegations

Since becoming Minister of the Environment, Žiga has been investigated for corruption related to state-owned forests, from which his own private company is alleged to have benefited.^[5]^[6] The current government, elected in 2020, has launched investigations into several cases dating from during Žiga's tenure at the Ministry of the Environment, including alleged theft of public funds and Eurofunds, signing of unfavorable contracts for the export of timber, and channelling of millions in European Union subsidies to companies connected with Smer-SD.^[7]

Personal life

In 2016, Žiga was ranked among the 40 most influential people in the Slovak energy sector by Euractiv.^[8]

References

^ Haluza, Ivan (25 October 2017). "Najväčší obchodník s drevom Žiga vyletel až vo vysokej politike". Trend.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 1 May 2019.
^ Haluza, Ivan (23 March 2016). "Staronovému ministrovi Žigovi sype jeho biznis s drevom stále viac". Trend.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 1 March 2021.
^ Kern, Miro (17 June 2020). "Pellegrini ohlásil stranu, má zatiaľ 11 poslancov". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press.
^ Tomečková, Nicol (8 April 2024). "Peter Pellegrini už nie je poslancom ani predsedom Národnej rady SR". Radio and Television of Slovakia (in Slovak).
^ "Staronovému ministrovi Žigovi sype jeho biznis s drevom stále viac". Trend.sk (in Slovak). Trend Media. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
^ "Do vyšetrovania Žigovej firmy sa zapojil Kováčik". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 4 Jun 2020.
^ "Polícia obvinila z korupcie bývalého manažéra štátnych lesov". Sme (in Slovak). Petit Press. Retrieved 4 Jun 2020.
^ "Zverejnili 40 najvplyvnejších ľudí slovenskej energetiky". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Ringier Axel Springier Slovakia. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2019.

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[1] Haluza, Ivan (25 October 2017). "Najväčší obchodník s drevom Žiga vyletel až vo vysokej politike". Trend.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 1 May 2019.

[2] Haluza, Ivan (23 March 2016). "Staronovému ministrovi Žigovi sype jeho biznis s drevom stále viac". Trend.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 1 March 2021.

[3] Kern, Miro (17 June 2020). "Pellegrini ohlásil stranu, má zatiaľ 11 poslancov". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press.

[4] Tomečková, Nicol (8 April 2024). "Peter Pellegrini už nie je poslancom ani predsedom Národnej rady SR". Radio and Television of Slovakia (in Slovak).

[5] "Staronovému ministrovi Žigovi sype jeho biznis s drevom stále viac". Trend.sk (in Slovak). Trend Media. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2020.

[6] "Do vyšetrovania Žigovej firmy sa zapojil Kováčik". Denník N (in Slovak). N Press. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 4 Jun 2020.

[7] "Polícia obvinila z korupcie bývalého manažéra štátnych lesov". Sme (in Slovak). Petit Press. Retrieved 4 Jun 2020.

[8] "Zverejnili 40 najvplyvnejších ľudí slovenskej energetiky". Aktuality.sk (in Slovak). Ringier Axel Springier Slovakia. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2019.

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v t e Government of Slovakia, 2016–2018
Prime Minister	Robert Fico
Deputy Prime Minister	Peter Pellegrini
Ministers	Roman Brecely Tomáš Drucker Peter Gajdoš Robert Kaliňák Peter Kažimír Miroslav Lajčák Marek Maďarič Gabriela Matečná Peter Plavčan Ján Richter László Solymos Peter Žiga Lucia Žitňanská

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Germany