Milos Zeman (Czech Miloš Zeman) - Czech social democratic politician, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (1998-2002), candidate in the presidential elections in 2003, in 2009-2010, chairman of the Civil Rights Party - Zemanovci, January 26, 2013 elected president Czech Republic. Known for his leftist and pro-Russian statements.
Place of Birth. Education. Born in the family of a postal official and a teacher on September 28, 1944 in Kolin on the territory of occupied Czechoslovakia, part of which was annexed by the Third Reich and the Kingdom of Hungary, and puppet states were created on the rest - the Slovak Republic and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The parents divorced shortly after the birth of their son. Milos grew up only with his mother.
He studied in Kolin: the first 9 years - in elementary, and from 1959 to 1963 - in secondary economic schools. Because of the essay about T. G. Masaryk, Zeman was forbidden to continue his education at the university.
From 1963 to 1967 he worked in construction. Since 1965 he received permission to study at a university, and began to study in absentia at the Prague Higher School of Economics in economic planning. Since 1967 he switched to full-time education. In 1969 he defended his diploma with honors under the title "Futurology and the Future". In 1969-1970 he was a lecturer at the Higher School of Economics.
In 1968 he joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and in 1970 he was expelled from it for disagreeing with the entry of Warsaw Pact troops and the beginning of the so-called "normalization".
Career. In 1971-1984 - an employee of the companies "Noctua", "Technosport", "Sportpropag". In 1985-1989 he was engaged in research work. In 1990-1992 - an employee of the Institute of Forecasting of the Academy of Sciences of Czechoslovakia.
Political career. In 1990-1992 - Member of Parliament. From February 1993 to April 7, 2001 - Chairman of the ChSDP. In 1996-1998 - Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament. July 17, 1998 - July 15, 2002 - Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.
After unsuccessful elections to the Senate and regional elections, he voluntarily left all leadership positions. In 2003, he ran for the presidency of the Czech Republic, but due to disagreements in his own party, he lost the election to Vaclav Klaus. Later, in 2007, he left the ranks of the Social Democratic Party due to a conflict with the new leadership of the party.
In the presidential elections in January 2013, the first direct presidential elections in the history of the Czech Republic, he took first place in the first round, receiving 24.21% of the vote. He went to the second round together with Karel Schwarzenberg and won it, gaining 54.8% of the vote.
In Prague, on March 8, 2013, he took office as President of the Czech Republic.
January 27, 2018 Milos Zeman won in the second round of the presidential elections in the Czech Republic. About 52% of voters voted for Zeman, for his competitor, the former head of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Jiri Dragos, almost 48%.
Comments. He is known for his harsh comments about contemporary political figures, both Czech and world, such as Jörg Haider and Yasser Arafat, as well as about entire peoples and sub-ethnic groups.
Against the backdrop of the annexation of Crimea and Russian support for armed separatists in eastern Ukraine, according to various news agencies, he provided conflicting comments - from calls for direct military assistance to Ukraine to sharp criticism of any EU sanctions against Russia.
Family. Married with a second marriage. From the second wife there is a daughter Katerzhina, from the first - the son David.
09/27/2024