MIKULÁŠ DZURINDA was elected president of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies in December 2013. He is former Prime Minister of Slovakia (1998–2006) and has held various positions in government since first entering politics in 1990. Head of a coalition government in 1998, Dzurinda introduced far-reaching reforms which enabled Slovakia to begin the process of joining the EU and NATO. Re-elected in 2002, he led Slovakia to become a member of the EU and NATO in 2004. Dzurinda also held the position of Minister of Transportation and more recently that of Minister for Foreign Affairs (July 2010 – April 2012). He is a founding member of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party (SDKÚ-DS) and was its president from 2000 to 2012. He was a member of the Slovak Parliament between 2012 and March 2016.