Zuzana Čaputová was born in Bratislava on 21st June 1973. She graduated from the Faculty of Law of Comenius University. She is the mother of two daughters. Over the course of her studies as well as after her graduation, she worked in local government, in Pezinok, first as an assistant in the legal department and later as the Deputy Head of the Municipal Authority. Working in the third sector from 1998, she was committed to working in public administration and to the issue of abused and exploited children. Later, she worked as a Project Manager for the Civil Association EQ Klub, focusing on the development of local communities. From 2001 to 2017, she worked with the Civil Association VIA IURIS, from 2010 as an attorney. She was dedicated to the issue of the rule of law and the enforcement of justice in selected branches of law, e.g. the operation of the judicial authorities, the accountability of public officials, the transparent use of public property and the enhancement of public control over public authorities.
For over ten years, she led the public campaign in Pezinok against the authorisation of another landfill, which would pollute the soil, air and water in the town and its surrounding areas. For her leadership in that campaign she was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2016. She is the author and co-author of several publications and a member of the global network of environmental lawyers ELAW (Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide). In December 2017, she announced that she was joining the political party Progresívne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia) and was elected as its Vice Chairman in January 2018. She currently holds no party membership.
She stood as a candidate for President of the Slovak Republic in 2018 and took office after her inauguration on 15th June 2019. She is the first female president of the Slovak Republic and, at the same time, as she is only 45-years old, the youngest person to take the office of President of the Slovak Republic. The postage stamp is based on a photograph taken by Peter Konečný.
Martina Goffová