Doc. PhDr. Boris Zala CSc. is a Member of the European Parlament since 2009. Before that he was twice elected Member of the Slovak National Council (1990 and 2002- 2009). Between the years 2006-2009 he was Head of the Slovak Permanent Delegation and Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. In 1989 he Co-founded People Against Violence which was an anti-communist civic movement founded in order to put the country back on democratic track within the framework of the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Between 1990-1992 he was a president of the Social Democratic Party. After that, he co-founded SMER- Sociálna demokracia/ DIRECTION- Social Democracy Party and between the years 1999-2002 he was Vice-chair of the party.

Boris Zala studied Philosophy at Comenius University, Bratislava (CSc. 1995, PhDr. 1981, MSc. 1979) and at Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra (Dr. Habil 2001).