Jaroslav Naď has been the Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic since March 2020. Before joining the anti-corruption political movement Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽANO) and entering politics, he worked in security and defense in the state administration and the non-governmental sector. Until 2013, he worked at the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic in various positions, including Deputy Director of the International Relations Department, Director of the Office of the Secretary of State and his advisor, Director General of the Defense Policy, International Relations and Legislation Section, as well as Diplomat - Head of the Defense Section in the Permanent Delegation Slovakia to NATO and to the Permanent Representation of Slovakia to the European Union. In 2014-2015, he served as Deputy Director of Globsec. He is a co-founder and former director of the Slovak Institute for Security Policy. He obtained a PhD degree  at the Academy of the Armed Forces gen. M. R. Štefánik, is a graduate of several courses organized by the US State Department, European Security and Defense College, Belgium, NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany and George C. Marshall Center, Garmisch, Germany.