Ladislav Polka (12 January 1952 – 24 April 2025) was a Slovak politician and police unionist. From 1992 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2006, he served as a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

National Council of Slovakia The National Council of the Slovak Republic (, abbreviated to ''NR SR'') is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral and consists of 150 members, who are elected by universal suffrage under proportional representation with seats dis ...

Background

Ladislav Polka was born on 12 January 1952 in the town of

Turzovka Turzovka () is a town in the Čadca District, Žilina Region in north-western Slovakia. History The present-day town was established in 1598 by a palatine of the Thurzó family. It gained town status in 1968. This town became well known by the ...

in the

Čadca District Čadca District (''okres Čadca'') is a Districts of Slovakia, district in the Žilina Region of northern central Slovakia, in the Kysuce region. It had been established in 1923 and the current borders exist from 1996. Forest covers 58% of the dist ...

in northern Slovakia. In 1975 he graduated in law from the

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

.Ladislav Polka. In: After graduation, he worked as a teacher at police academy. In 1989, he was one of the founders of the police trade union in Slovakia. Polka died on 24 April 2025, at the age of 73. He is buried at the

Slávičie údolie cemetery Slávičie údolie cemetery (, literally "Nightingale Valley") is a cemetery in the Karlova Ves borough in Bratislava, Slovakia. It covers and is the largest cemetery in Bratislava. The cemetery was built in 1912 for poorer inhabitants of Brati ...

Political career

Polka was a member of the

Movement for a Democratic Slovakia Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger co ...

(HZDS). He was elected a Member of the National Council of Slovakia from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2006. In 2003 he was among the group of 11 HZDS MPs who splintered from the party to start a new party called People's Union. Nonetheless, he soon after left also People's Union and served for the rest of his term as an independent MP. After leaving People's Union, Polka voted with the government on several occasions, prompting corruption accusations from his former HZDS and People's Union comrades as well as uneasiness from some government MPs due to role Polka played in the authoritarian government led by HZDS in 1990s. After leaving politics, Polka was active as a security analyst.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polka, Ladislav 1952 births 2025 deaths Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2002-2006 Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 1994-1998 Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 1992–1994 People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia politicians Slovak police officers Comenius University alumni People from Čadca District