Kelmný was born in Drake Town as a 3rd-generation Hurbanovan. He studied at Nobel University in the 1960s, but was really discontent with the system. Coming from a mining family, he constantly protested in favor of workers (and miners, in Oceana) unions, and formed part of the worldwide student protests of 1968. He married teacher Wilma Radek in 1976, and had two children, Michael and Anna. In 1999, he joined the Lovian Democratic Party and that year he became the Mayor of Hurbanova, holding office until 2001. He was elected into the 2005 Congress, the 2006 Congress and the 2007 Congress. In 2011, the LDP merged with LU to create the Liberal Democratic Party, which Kelmný strongly opposed. He left the LDP and joined the Social Democratic Party later on, as the head of advertising campaigns