Ivan Gašparovic – President of Slovakia
The Slovak Republic has belonged in fragments to a great many empires, and until the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918, had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary for almost 1000 years. Still feeling vulnerable in the immediate aftermath of this extremely long relationship, the Slovakians initially ran away with the Czechs for a fling that would last until the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Together, the Czechs and Slovaks overthrew the communist government, but this was to prove insufficient liberation for the Slovaks who yearned to go their own way, and in 1993 they were granted the Velvet Divorce that resulted in present day Slovakia.
Ivan Gašparovic, here resplendent in his underpants, is the current president of the new Republic and was one of the authors of their constitution. Among the delightful nuggets of information about him available on Wikipedia are his reference to his predecessor as an “old dick” (starého chuja, foreign language insult fans!) and the fact that he “takes his children to McDonald’s”.
Be upstanding, World Leaders in Your Underpants, dicks old and young. You are now being joined by proud Slovak, Ivan Gašparovic.
