Tomáš Hellebrandt
{{Short description|Slovak economist and politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Tomas Hellebrandt, 24 podcast, JOJ, 2022, 06m30s (crop 4-5).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Tomáš Hellebrandt in 2022
| order =
| office = Member of the National Council
| termstart = 25 October 2023
| termend = 6 February 2024
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|4|7|df=y}}
| birth_place = Žilina, Czechoslovakia
| party = Progressive Slovakia
| spouse =
| children =
| signature =
| alma_mater = University of Oxford
London School of Economics
}}
Tomáš Hellebrandt (born 7 April 1982) is a Slovak economist and politician. From 2023 to 2024, he served as a Member of the National Council.
Biography
= Early life and education =
Tomáš Hellebrandt was born on 7 April 1982 in Žilina.{{cite web |title=Parliamentary profile of Tomáš Hellebrandt |url=https://www.nrsr.sk/web/Default.aspx?sid=poslanci/poslanec&PoslanecID=1136&CisObdobia=9 |access-date=25 October 2023}} At the age of ten he moved with his parents to Dubai, where he grew up.{{cite web |title=Slovenský ekonóm v USA: Máme sa lepšie ako ľudia pred 20 rokmi |url=https://podmaz.sk/podcast/slovaci-v-zahranici/0209949102-slovensky-ekonom-v-usa-mame-sa-lepsie-ako-ludia-pred-20-rokmi |access-date=25 October 2023}}
Hellebrandt studied economics at University of Oxford and the London School of Economics.{{cite web |title=Tomáš Hellebrandt |url=https://progresivne.sk/kandidatka/tomas-hellebrandt/ |website=Progresívne Slovensko |access-date=25 October 2023 |language=sk-SK}} Following graduation, he worked as an economist at the Bank of England and later at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.{{cite web |title=Tomas Hellebrandt {{!}} PIIE |url=https://www.piie.com/experts/former-research-staff/tomas-hellebrandt |website=www.piie.com |language=en |date=2 March 2016}}
Between 2017 and 2022, Hellebrandt worked as an analyst at the Ministry of Finance in Slovakia. He left the ministry after criticizing the minister Igor Matovič for ignoring the evidence presented by the staff of the ministry and cooperating with extreme right politicians to push his agenda through the parliament. The president Zuzana Čaputová subsequently criticized the government for creating a hostile environment for senior civil servants.{{cite web |title=Špičkový analytik buchol dverami u Matoviča. Okamžite sa mu ozvala Čaputová, zverejnil jej sms |url=https://ekonomika.pravda.sk/ludia/clanok/636947-spickovy-analytik-buchol-dverami-u-matovica-ozvala-sa-mu-caputova/ |website=Pravda.sk |access-date=25 October 2023 |language=sk-SK |date=13 August 2022}}
= Political career =
Following his departure from the ministry, Hellebrandt joined the Progressive Slovakia party and became its economic expert.{{cite web |title=ZÁZNAM: Odborníkom na sociálne politiky a ekonomiku strany PS sa stal Tomáš Hellebrandt |url=https://tv.teraz.sk/live/21066?search_relacia=live&video_name=x8fhh1rtk-hnutia-progresivne-slovensko-novy-expert-na-socialnu-oblast |website=TASR.TV |access-date=25 October 2023}}
In the election campaign leading up to the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election, Hellebrandt became a target of fake news. The far right online influencer Daniel Bombic claimed Hellebrandt either died or was close to death after receiving the fourth dose of vaccine against COVID-19. Hellebrandt and his political party responded to the rumor by confirming Hellebrandt was in perfect health and criticizing those spreading the rumor for causing needless stress to Hellebrandt's family.{{cite web |title=Hoax o smrti kandidáta PS. Šíri ho aj známy dezinformátor: Neverte fašistom, odkazuje politik |url=https://spravy.pravda.sk/parlamentne-volby-2023/clanok/681471-hoax-o-smrti-kandidata-ps-siri-ho-aj-znamy-dezinformator-neverte-fasistom-odkazuje-politik/ |website=Pravda.sk |access-date=25 October 2023 |language=sk-SK |date=15 September 2023}}
After winning a mandate in the election, Hellebrandt wore a rainbow ribbon on his jacket during the swear in ceremony.{{cite web |title=Poslanec PS Tomáš Hellebrandt zložil sľub s |url=https://dennikn.sk/minuta/3644514/ |website=Denník N |access-date=25 October 2023 |language=sk-SK |date=25 October 2023}}
On 6 February 2024, Hellebrandt resigned his MP seat after failing to disclose an infectious illness while being treated at a hospital in Žilina.{{cite web |last1=Folentová |first1=Veronika |title=Hellebrandt z PS sa vzdal mandátu a ospravedlnil sa nemocnici za to, že neoznámil svoje ochorenie |url=https://dennikn.sk/3817903/hellebrandt-z-ps-sa-vzdal-mandatu-a-ospravedlnil-sa-nemocnici-za-to-ze-neoznamil-svoje-ochorenie/ |website=Denník N |access-date=13 February 2024 |language=sk-SK |date=8 February 2024}}
Private life
Hellebrandt considers himself "a proud member of the rainbow community". Together with his fellow Progressive Slovakia MP Lucia Plaváková , he is the third openly gay member of the Slovak parliament, after Edita Angyalová and Stanislav Fořt.
References
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Category:Progressive Slovakia politicians
Category:Slovak LGBTQ politicians
Category:Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 2023–2027
Category:21st-century Slovak LGBTQ people
Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford