Michal Šimečka

Michal Šimečka (born 10 May 1984) is a Slovak politician, journalist, and researcher, who served as a Vice-President of the European Parliament between 2022 and 2023, as well as Member of the European Parliament between 2019 and 2023. In 2020, Šimečka was elected vice-president of the European political group Renew Europe. He is a co-founder of the social-liberal Progressive Slovakia party, leading it from 2022.

Early life and education
Šimečka earned a bachelor's degree in political sciences and international relations from the Charles University in Prague in 2006. He obtained an MPhil in Russian and East European Studies at St Antony's College at the University of Oxford in 2008, before moving to Nuffield College, where he received a DPhil in Politics and International Relations in 2012.

Member of the European Parliament, 2019–2023
Šimečka is a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights and European Parliament Intergroup on Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages.

During the European Parliament elections in May 2019, Šimečka was the leader of the coalition candidate Progressive Slovakia and Democrats, which won with a profit of 20.11%. He was elected MEP with 81,735 preferential votes. Later that November, Šimečka was elected rapporteur on the establishment of an EU Mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights.

In October 2020, Šimečka presented his proposal for a mechanism combining several tools which monitor the respect of rule of law and European values, which received majority support in the European Parliament. He explained that the EU should do more to address the abuse of EU funding, writing that "an implicit bargain between net contributors and net recipients – we pay for market access, you are free to abuse funds" should end.

From 2020 until 2021, Šimečka served as deputy chair of the Renew Europe parliamentary group, under the leadership of chair Dacian Cioloș.

Following the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election, Šimečka gave up vice-presidency of the EP to focus on leading the opposition in Slovakia. He received 92 votes, 29 MPs voted against and 21 abstained.

LGBT views
Michal Šimečka supports the LGBT community and supported the Rainbow Ribbon campaign as up to 77% of LGBT+ people do not hold hands in public because they are afraid of being attacked.

Personal life
Šimečka is the son of journalists Martin Milan Šimečka and Marta Šimečková (née Frišová). He lives in Bratislava with his partner Soňa Ferienčíková and their daughter Táňa (b. 2020).