Zuzana Čaputová, a lawyer and environmental rights activist, was sworn in as Slovakia’s first female president in May 2019. Known for her decade-long crusade against a toxic landfill in her hometown of Pezinok, Čaputová is also a proponent of LGBTQ rights and reproductive healthcare. Her campaign for presidency focused on anti-corruption, in response to the country’s struggles with large-scale political corruption and loss of public trust. Though the president’s role in Slovakia is mostly ceremonial, Čaputová still has many important powers at her disposal such as appointing head judges and acting as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Photo credit:Vladimir Simicek/AFP/Getty Images
