Speaker

MIROSLAV LAJCAK President of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly;former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovak Republic;former EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues Miroslav Lajčák is a distinguished diplomat with over three decades of experience representing both the Slovak Republic and the international community. He served four terms as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, also holding the position of Deputy Prime Minister from 2012 to 2016. His extensive diplomatic career includes ambassadorships to Japan, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Albania. He played a pivotal role in conflict resolution in the Western Balkans, notably overseeing Montenegro’s 2006 independence referendum on behalf of the European Union and serving as High Representative and EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2007-2009). From 2020 to 2025, he served as the European Union Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other regional issues in the Western Balkans. Dr. Lajčák has held several high-ranking international positions, including President of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (2017-2018) and Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe during Slovakia’s 2019 Chairmanship. From 2010 to 2012, he was instrumental in establishing the European External Action Service as its first Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia. A graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and Comenius University in Bratislava, Miroslav Lajčák has been awarded five honorary doctorates and has received numerous international distinctions. He regularly delivers lectures at leading academic institutions. He remains actively engaged in international diplomacy through advisory work.