photo: Jaroslav Kmeť/Linkedin/Jaroslav Kmeť
Jaroslav Kmeť, born in Humenné, is the Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Construction of Slovakia since April 1st, 2020. The nomination for this position came from the political party “Sme rodina”. Jaroslav Kmeť is a graduate of doctorate studies at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. He has held several management positions and has experience in marketing and strategy. According to him, he is not used to leaving the work he started and accepted the minister’s offer with gratitude. However, what sets Jaroslav Kmeť apart from other colleagues is his presence on social networks and his sense of humor as he can make fun of himself or his position.
Jaroslav Kmeť published a funny post on his social media profile, more precisely a photo with a description “Railways are like a box of chocolates, you never know what problem you will come across,” which refers to the cult film Forrest Gump.
In the year of 2014 he and his wife, Lenka Kmeťová, founded a civic association Hope for Horses and People to raise awareness of the lack of legislative protection of horses and thus help abused and neglected horses. In January 2021, this shelter for horses run by the couple on their private farm provided refuge for thirteen horses and one pony. Lenka Kmeťová, who currently leads the civic association Hope for Horses and People, is actively involved in the fight for animal rights.
In the position of the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, he deals with the road, rail, and air transport, electronic services, and strategy. In recent months Kmeť has focused mainly on railways and the support of rail freight transport, as well as on issues related to the support of intermodal transport or the support of JVZ.
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