The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, announced today that Beata Balogová, editor-in-chief of the independent Slovak daily SME, has been appointed as a vice chair of the organization’s Executive Board.

Balogová joined the Executive Board in 2015. Prior to joining SME in 2014, she was previously editor-in-chief of Slovakia’s English-language daily, The Slovak Spectator.

The Executive Board confirmed Balogová’s appointment during a meeting on November 2 in Bratislava, where the Executive Board gathered to call for justice in the murder of Ján Kuciak, a young Slovak journalist gunned down with his fiancée earlier this year. Balogová has been a key figure in the movement against impunity for Kuciak’s murder and is respected across the region for her dedication to press freedom and independent journalism.

“It is important for IPI to have a strong voice in Central and Eastern Europe, and Beata is a strong voice”, IPI Executive Board Chair Markus Spillmann said in announcing the appointment.

Balogová is IPI’s fourth current vice chair, joining Woosuk Choi, editor of South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper; Khadija Patel, editor-in-chief of South Africa’s Mail & Guardian; and Dawn Thomas, CEO of One Caribbean Media, based in Trinidad and Tobago.