President awards ice hockey players, scientists and other personalities with state decorations

In an earlier version of this article we incorrectly stated that Hilda Múdra received the state honour in memoriam. We apologise for the mistake to her and her family.

President Zuzana Čaputová awarded 24 personalities from the societal, cultural, scientific and sports spheres with state decorations on June 27.

The state honours were presented to eight women and 16 men, while five people received them in memoriam. The ceremony was held on the occasion of the 28th anniversary of the establishment of an independent Slovak Republic.

“We met here to celebrate human creativity, persistence, intellect and the unbreakable soul,” Čaputová said, as quoted by the Sme daily. “The personalities we award today have fought for freedom, contributed to the creation of important democratic institutions and taken care that these institutions meet their purpose.”

She recalled in her speech how the past year was impacted by the pandemic, which only underlined the roles of some people, including doctors, scientists and teachers. It also showed how compassionate and selfless people can be.

President Čaputová awarded 24 personalities with state decorations (27 photos)

The laureates

Order of the White Double Cross 3rd class:

• Pavel Rychetský – Czech lawyer; awarded for his contribution to the development of relationships between Slovakia and the Czech Republic

Ľudovít Štúr Order 1st class:

• Pavol Demitra (in memoriam) – late ice hockey player who died in the September 2011 plane crash in Yaroslavl in central Russia

• Rudolf Chmel – politician; awarded for his contribution to build, develop and protect democracy, human rights and freedoms

• Hilda Múdra – figure-skating coach of Austrian origin (one of her charges was successful figure skater Ondrej Nepela); awarded for her achievements in sports and promoting Slovakia abroad

Ľudovít Štúr Order 2nd class:

• Pavol Čekan – scientist; awarded for his contribution in the development and production of Covid tests

• Zdeno Chára – ice hockey player; awarded for his achievements in sport and promoting Slovakia abroad

Ľudovít Štúr Order 3rd class:

• Vladimír Godár – composer and university teacher; awarded for his achievements in culture and art

• Chaviva Reick (in memoriam) – Jewish activist and a member of the parachute troops sent to Slovakia on a military mission during WWII; awarded for her contribution to the creation, development and protection of democracy, human rights and freedoms

• Anna Šestáková – the oldest member of the Confederation of Political Prisoners in Slovakia; awarded for her contribution to the creation, development and protection of democracy, human rights and freedoms

• Magdaléna Špotáková – psychologist; awarded for her achievements in the social field, particularly the mental care for families with mentally handicapped children from a socially disadvantaged environment

• Milan Šútovec – literary scientist and publicist; awarded for his contribution to the creation, development and protection of democracy, human rights and freedoms

Milan Rastislav Štefánik Cross 1st class:

• Jaroslav Budz (in memoriam) – a secondary school teacher who died while attempting to prevent the attack at a Vrútky school in June 2020

Milan Rastislav Štefánik Cross 3rd class:

• Károly Tóth (in memoriam) – Hungarian activist and fighter against communism; awarded for his contribution to the creation, development and protection of democracy, human rights and freedoms, and the support of interethnic and intercultural understanding

Pribina Cross 2nd class:

• Helena Jurasovová – folklorist, dance teacher and choreographer; awarded for her contribution and activities in children’s scenic folklore

• Ivan Štrpka – writer; awarded for his contribution to the cultural development of Slovakia

• Dezider Ursíny (in memoriam) – musician; awarded for his contribution to the cultural development of Slovakia

Pribina Cross 3rd class:

• Vasiľ Jabur – one of the codifiers of the Ruthenian language; awarded for his contribution to the codification of the Ruthenian language

• Kristína Križanová – a pioneer of palliative medicine; awarded for her contribution to the social development of Slovakia

• Ivan Leitman – psychologist; awarded for his contribution to the social development of Slovakia

• Vladimír Michal – founder of Artforum bookshop; awarded for his contribution to the cultural development of Slovakia

• Ján Zavarský – scenographer and university teacher; awarded for his contribution to the cultural development of Slovakia

• Agnesa Horváthová – journalist and Roma activist; awarded for her contribution to the social development of Slovakia

Medal of the President of Slovak Republic:

• Sándor Beke – Hungarian actor; awarded for his contribution to the cultural development of Slovakia

• Agnieszka Holland – Polish filmmaker; awarded for her contribution to the cultural development of Slovakia