Peter Kmec (born 11 November 1966) is a Slovak diplomat and politician. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and Knowledge Economy in the Fourth Cabinet of Robert Fico from 25 October 2023 until his resignation on 19 November 2025. He is a member of the Voice – Social Democracy party (HLAS-SD).
Early Life and Education
Kmec was born on 11 November 1966 in Nitra, Czechoslovakia (present-day Slovakia). Between 1985 and 1990, he studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). He also completed legal studies at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University in Bratislava.
Diplomatic Career
Kmec began his diplomatic career in 1993 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic. From 2000 to 2003, he served as Deputy Ambassador at the Slovak Embassy in Israel. He was the Ambassador of Slovakia to Sweden from 2007 until 2012, and later the Ambassador to the United States from 2012 until 2018. After returning to Slovakia, he served as Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini from August 2018 to March 2020.
Political Career
In the 2020 parliamentary election, Kmec was elected as a member of the National Council of Slovakia on the list of Direction – Social Democracy (SMER-SD). Shortly after the election, he joined the newly formed Voice – Social Democracy party (HLAS-SD), which split from SMER-SD under Peter Pellegrini.
Kmec served as the main foreign policy expert for Voice until a video was published by a SMER activist showing Kmec agreeing with government foreign policy experts on the need for a pro-Western orientation of Slovak politics. The video was used by SMER to accuse Voice of planning to form a government with liberal parties rather than with SMER after the 2023 parliamentary election. As a result, Kmec lost his position as the Voice foreign policy expert.
Following the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election, Kmec became Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and Knowledge Economy in Fico's Fourth Cabinet, taking office on 25 October 2023.
In November 2025, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced he would submit a motion to the President of Slovakia to dismiss Kmec, citing "doubts about the handling of public funds." Kmec subsequently submitted his resignation, stating he was doing so to protect the reputation of his party and Slovak industry, while denying any major wrongdoing. President Peter Pellegrini accepted the resignation on 19 November 2025. After his resignation, Kmec returned to the National Council as a member of parliament.
Personal Life
Kmec is married to Monika and has two adult children. He holds the academic title of JUDr. (Doctor of Law).
