Július Bobovnický
Laureate of the 2023 edition
Július Bobovnický was born in 1935. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Bratislava and from 1959 worked as a physician at the Hospital and Polyclinic in Skalica. In 1962 he began working in the neurology department, and in 1967 he became its head physician. He held this senior position for 30 years, until his retirement. During his professional career he trained a number of highly qualified neurologists, and under his leadership the originally small inpatient ward was transformed into a modern, high-quality department. Alongside his work at the hospital, he also taught at the Secondary Medical School.
Laureate profile
Július Bobovnický was born in 1935. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Bratislava and from 1959 worked as a physician at the Hospital and Polyclinic in Skalica. In 1962 he began working in the neurology department, and in 1967 he became its head physician. He held this senior position for 30 years, until his retirement. During his professional career he trained a number of highly qualified neurologists, and under his leadership the originally small inpatient ward was transformed into a modern, high-quality department. Alongside his work at the hospital, he also taught at the Secondary Medical School.
After the Velvet Revolution he became fully involved in the restoration of democratic institutions in Czechoslovakia. He was one of the founders of the Christian Democratic Movement in his region. In the first free elections in 1990 he won a seat in the House of the People of the Federal Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic. As a deputy, he chaired an important special oversight body responsible for monitoring the activities of the Federal Security Information Service.
He served in the Federal Assembly until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, taking a critical view of the way Czechoslovakia was divided. Before the division of the state he called for a referendum to be held. After retiring, he worked for a further 10 years as an outpatient physician. He holds the Silver Badge of the Slovak Medical Association.