Martin Sklenár served as Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic, as part of a technocratic government, from May 15 to October 25, 2023.
Previously, Martin Sklenár served as Director General for Defence Policy at the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic since July 1, 2020. In his capacity, he was responsible for developing and implementing defence policy and defence planning. He was also responsible for Slovakia´s international cooperation in defence related matters.
Martin Sklenár served as the Director for Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic between September 2017 and June 2020. He was responsible for developing and implementing security policy as it relates to Slovakia’s membership in NATO and European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy. His department also led the effort of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs to increase capacity in countering hybrid threats.
From 2014 to 2017 Martin Sklenár was posted to the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Washington, DC as Head of Political Section. As part of his responsibilities, he engaged in developing the bilateral U. S. – Slovak relation through cooperation with the U. S. Government, U. S. Congress and non-governmental organizations. He also followed U. S. foreign policy with regard to the situation in Europe, incl. NATO and the EU, Middle East and Asia.
Before taking up his duties at the Embassy, Martin Sklenár directed the Department for Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in Bratislava from 2011 to 2013. He transferred to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs from the Slovak Ministry of Defence, where he held various positions between 2003 and 2011, including Director for International Relations. The Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic posted Martin to Brussels to be its representative in the Politico-Military Working Group of the EU Council from 2006 to 2009. In 2010 he deployed to Pristina as a UN Volunteer to work in the Political Affairs Office of the UN Mission in Kosovo.
Martin Sklenár holds a post-graduate degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Matej-Bel-University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia and has attended several expert courses and seminars, including at Harvard Extension School and the George C. Marshall Center.