Eduard Heger

Eduard Heger (; born 3 May 1976) is a Slovak politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Slovakia from 1 April 2021 to 15 May 2023. He previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Igor Matovič. Heger was a member of the presidium of the populist movement Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) until March 2023. Early life Heger was born in 1976 in Bratislava to parents employed in culture. His father, a member of the Communist party, organized big music festivals, which allowed young Heger to meet many local high profile musicians. His family was not religious, but Heger embraced Catholic charismatic renewal as a young adult after the death of his father. Prior to his entry to politics, he was professionally involved in management of the Charismatic Christian communities in Slovakia. In particular, he was active in the community under the administration of the Cathedral of St. Martin in Bratislava. In 1999, Heger graduated in Trade and Management at the University of Economics in Bratislava. In his early career, he held junior managerial positions at several small companies, including several restaurants and bathroom accessory producer Intercomp. Between 2001 - 2005, Heger worked as a junior consultant for Cubic Corporation on a military modernization project for the Slovak Ministry of Defence. In his early career, he spent about 18 months in the US, where he became acquainted with Juraj Droba, who later went on to become the Governor of the Bratislava Region a prominent liberal politician in Slovakia. Heger, despite being a conservative, formed a strong friendship with Droba. Together with American investors, they established a company called Old Nassau, the producer of Double Cross Vodka, a premium Slovak vodka brand destined mainly for export to the US. At Old Nassau, Heger was responsible for production and marketing until his entry to politics. In 2016, Heger was persuaded to run for an MP seat by prominent figures of the Slovak Charismatic movement Branislav Škripek and , who were themselves active in politics.