Miloš Zeman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Miloš Zeman
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Zeman in 2022
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| 3rd President of the Czech Republic | |
| In office 8 March 2013 – 8 March 2023 |
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| Prime Minister | Petr Nečas Jiří Rusnok Bohuslav Sobotka Andrej Babiš Petr Fiala |
| Preceded by | Václav Klaus |
| Succeeded by | Petr Pavel |
| Prime Minister of the Czech Republic | |
| In office 17 July 1998 – 15 July 2002 |
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| President | Václav Havel |
| Preceded by | Josef Tošovský |
| Succeeded by | Vladimír Špidla |
| President of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 27 June 1996 – 17 July 1998 |
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| Preceded by | Milan Uhde |
| Succeeded by | Václav Klaus |
| Leader of the Social Democratic Party | |
| In office 28 February 1993 – 7 April 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Jiří Horák |
| Succeeded by | Vladimír Špidla |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 September 1944 Kolín, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (now Czech Republic) |
| Political party | Communist Party (1968–1970) Civic Forum (1990–1991) Civic Movement (1991–1992) Social Democratic Party (1992–2007) Independent (2007–2009, 1970–1990) Party of Civic Rights (2009–2022) |
| Spouses |
Blanka Zemanová
(m. 1971; div. 1978)Ivana Bednarčíková
(m. 1993) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Economics, Prague |
| Signature |  |
Miloš Zeman (Czech: [ˈmɪloʃ ˈzɛman]; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician who served as the third president of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2023. He also previously served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party from 1993 to 2001, he is credited with the revival of the party into one of the country's major political forces. Zeman briefly served as the President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1996 to 1998.
Born in Kolín to a modest family, Zeman joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1968, but was expelled two years later due to his opposition to the Warsaw Pact invasion. Following the Velvet Revolution in 1989, he joined the Czech Social Democratic Party, which he led into the 1996 election.
Zeman became Prime Minister following the 1998 legislative election after striking a controversial pact with his long-time rival Václav Klaus, which was heavily criticized by President Václav Havel, the media and opposition for weakening the system of checks and balances. His government continued the privatization of publicly owned industries and established new administrative regions. Zeman's cabinet also attempted to change the electoral system to first-past-the-post voting, which was struck down by the Constitutional Court. Under his leadership, the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999. Zeman was the last leader to vote in favor of the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia, effectively green-lighting the operation. He ran for president in 2003 but was eliminated after his own party members did not vote for him.
In 2013, Zeman was elected president of the Czech Republic, becoming the first directly elected president in the nation's history; his predecessors were elected by the Parliament. In 2018, he was re-elected for a second term. His presidency was marked by deepening polarization and political discontent. Zeman has been a subject of widespread criticism and source of controversy. He was widely regarded as having pursued favourable policies towards Russia and China, while frequently clashing with traditional allies in the European Union and NATO. However, some of his supporters contest this characterization, and Zeman subsequently strongly opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During his presidency, many of his high-level staff and associates were targets of investigations for mishandling classified information, corruption and fraud, among others. Zeman left office in 2023 and was succeeded by Petr Pavel.
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Early years
Zeman was born in Kolín. His parents divorced when he was two years old and he was raised by his mother, who was a teacher. He studied at a high school in Kolín, then from 1965 at the University of Economics in Prague, graduating in 1969.
Zeman joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1968, during the Prague Spring, but was expelled in 1970 due to his opposition to the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. He was dismissed from his job and spent more than ten years working for the sports organisation Sportpropag (1971–84). From 1984, he worked at the company Agrodat, but he lost his job again in 1989, as a result of a critical article he had written in Technický magazín in August 1989, entitled "Prognostika a přestavba" (Forecasting and Perestroika).
Political activities before presidency
In summer 1989, he appeared on Czechoslovak Television criticising the poor state of the Czechoslovak economy. His speech caused a scandal, but his views helped him join the leaders of the Civic Forum a few months later, during the Velvet Revolution.
In 1990 Zeman became a member of the House of the Nations of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly. In 1992, he ran successfully for the House of the People of the Federal Assembly, already as a member of the Czechoslovak Social Democracy (ČSSD), which he joined the same year. In 1993, he was elected chairman of the party, and in the following years he transformed it into one of the country's major parties.
The success of ČSSD in the 1996 legislative election allowed him to prevent his rival Václav Klaus and his Civic Democratic Party (ODS) from forming a majority government. Zeman became the President of the Chamber of Deputies and held this post until the early election in 1998.
In 1998, ČSSD won the election and Zeman became Prime Minister of a minority government, which he led for the next four years. In April 2001, he was replaced as leader by Vladimír Špidla. Zeman then retired and moved to live in the countryside in the Vysočina Region. He won a presidential primary in 2002 to become the ČSSD nominee for president, but lost the 2003 presidential election to Václav Klaus, due to party disunity. Zeman became an outspoken critic of his former party's leaders. He left ČSSD on 21 March 2007, due to conflicts with the party leader and chairman, Jiří Paroubek.
In October 2009, he founded a new party, Party of Civic Rights – Zemanovci. The party did not win any seats in the 2010, 2013 or 2017 legislative elections.
Presidency (2013–2023)
In February 2012 Miloš Zeman announced his return to politics and intention to run in the first direct presidential election in the Czech Republic. Polls indicated that he was one of the two strongest candidates in the election, alongside Jan Fischer. Zeman narrowly won the first round of the elections and progressed to the second round to face Karel Schwarzenberg, winning by a clearer margin. His term began in March 2013.
In May 2013, Zeman refused to grant a tenured professorship to literary historian Martin C. Putna, due to Putna's appearance at 2011 Prague Gay Pride.
In June 2013, the coalition government led by Petr Nečas collapsed due to a corruption and spying scandal. Zeman, ignoring the political balance of power in the Czech Parliament, appointed his friend and long-term ally Jiří Rusnok as Prime Minister, and tasked him with forming a new government. This was described in parts of the Czech and foreign media as a political power grab, undermining parliamentary democracy and expanding his powers. On 10 July, during the appointment of Rusnok's cabinet, Zeman advised the new cabinet members not to "let yourself get annoyed by media criticism from jealous fools who have never in their lives done anything useful". Rusnok's government was short-lived, and resigned after losing a vote of confidence.
Zeman played an important role in a scandal that occurred in October 2013, shortly after the Czech legislative election. ČSSD First Deputy Chairman Michal Hašek and his allies in the party called for chairman Bohuslav Sobotka to resign following the party's poor election result, and excluded him from the team negotiating the next government. However, it subsequently emerged that Hašek and his allies had attended a secret post-election meeting with Zeman, where they were rumoured to have negotiated a 'coup' in ČSSD. Hašek initially denied the accusations, stating on Czech Television that "there was no meeting". However, his allies (deputies Milan Chovanec, Zdeněk Škromach, Jeroným Tejc and Jiří Zimola) later admitted that the meeting took place. The event sparked public protests in the country and eventually led to Hašek apologising and resigning his position in the party. Zeman denied having initiated the meeting. His Party of Civic Rights – Zemanovci (SPOZ) received 1.5% of the vote in the election, winning no seats.
On 6 April 2014, in the wake of the annexation of Crimea, Zeman called for strong action to be taken, possibly including sending NATO forces into Ukraine, if Russia tried to annex the eastern part of the country. The Czech Republic has been a NATO member since 1999, when Zeman was prime minister. In the Czech constitutional system it is the government that has the main responsibility for foreign policy, although the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The ČSSD government of Bohuslav Sobotka resisted strong EU sanctions against Russia after the annexation, because of the negative economic impact such sanctions would have had on the country.
In November 2014, while Czechs celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 1989 Velvet Revolution against the Soviet-style communist regime, the festivities turned into an appeal for Zeman to resign. Many Czechs believe that Miloš Zeman has betrayed the legacy of Václav Havel who helped Czechoslovakia and then Czech Republic become a champion of human rights. Protesters see Zeman as too sympathetic to authoritarian regimes and too close to Russia and China. They carried football-style red penalty cards as a warning of ejection to Zeman and pelted eggs at him.
An opinion poll conducted by the CVVM agency in March 2016 reported that 62% of Czechs trusted President Miloš Zeman, up from 55% in September 2015. By December 2016, his approval rating had fallen to 48% following a series of scandals, with around 49% of those surveyed stating that they didn't trust him.
On 9 March 2017, during a meeting with his supporters, Zeman announced his intention to run again for the presidency, confirming his decision the next day in a press conference. He said that he had been persuaded by the support of the people. He stated that he did not think he was the favourite in the election, and that he would not run a political campaign, attack his rivals, or participate in debates. He also announced that he would participate in a television programme called A week with the President.
Zeman decided to run for a second term and stood in the presidential elections in 2018. Observers compared the election to other elections such as the 2016 United States and 2017 French presidential elections, which saw a liberal internationalist and a right-wing populist running against each other. Zeman won the election with 51.37% in the second round.
On 25 July 2019, the Senate, for the first time in the history of the Czech Republic, approved and delivered to the Chamber of Deputies articles of impeachment against President Zeman, related to eight instances where he had allegedly acted in breach of the constitution, including naming and dismissing cabinet ministers, interference in court cases, and acting against the foreign interests of the Czech government. The Chamber of Deputies rejected indicting Zeman on 26 September 2019 with only 58 MPs voting for indictment out of 120 votes needed.
On 10 October 2021, the day after the 2021 Czech legislative election, Zeman was hospitalized, throwing the timeline for the start of government formation talks into doubt. After eight days with almost no details about Zeman's health condition from his spokesperson Jiří Ovčáček nor the head of the president's office Vratislav Mynář, Senate President Miloš Vystrčil said at a press conference that he had received an update from the Central Military Hospital (UVN) and the President's chief physician Miroslav Zavoral that Zeman was "currently unable to perform any work duties due to health reasons". On 25 November Zeman was discharged from the hospital after his condition improved. The hospital said it would have preferred Zeman to remain hospitalized, but accepted his decision. However, on the same day, he tested positive for COVID-19 and thus returned to the hospital for two more days.
On 19 October 2022, Zeman announced he would retire from politics at the end of his second term, in March of 2023.
Post-presidency
On 19 April 2023, Zeman opened a new office on Jaselská street in Prague 6, rented from the Prague Archbishopric. He said he expects to welcome visitors once a week.
Speaking as a guest at the Freedom and Direct Democracy leadership election in April 2024, Zeman stated his wish for the next Czech governing coalition to be composed of ANO 2011 and Freedom and Direct Democracy.
Political views
Zeman was considered a centre-left politician during his premiership and term as leader of the Social Democrats, but as president he began to be associated with far-right anti-immigration policies in response to the European migrant crisis.
Gun control
In 2016, following a number of terror attacks around Europe, Zeman joined a number of other Czech politicians and security professionals in urging the 240,000 gun owners in the country with concealed carry licences to carry their firearms, in order to be able to contribute to the protection of soft targets. Zeman's wife also obtained a concealed carry license and a revolver.
European Union
Zeman has expressed both supportive and critical positions regarding the European Union. As prime minister, he helped bring the Czech Republic into the EU, and he has described himself as a "federalist" who supports EU membership. Before becoming president, he promised to fly the flag of Europe at Prague Castle, something that Zeman's predecessor, Václav Klaus, refused to do; he did so shortly after taking office. On the same day, Zeman ratified the Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism, which Klaus had also refused to do, making the Czech Republic the last country to do so. In June 2017, Zeman stated that Czech people are "irrationally afraid" of adopting the Euro as the Czech Republic's currency.
Despite his pro-EU statements and actions, Zeman supports holding a referendum on Czech EU membership similar to the Brexit referendum held in the United Kingdom in 2016. He also has been labelled a Eurosceptic and opposes the EU's migrant quotas. Some of his critics have accused him of having pro-Russia leanings, favouring it over the EU.
Environment and climate change
Like his predecessor and former opponent Václav Klaus, Zeman is a climate change denier. He has said that in his opinion, human activity probably cannot influence global warming.
Israel
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Zeman is a long-standing supporter of the State of Israel.
He ordered the Israeli flag to fly at the Prague Castle to show support for Israel amid the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.
Kosovo
Zeman is opposed to having a Czech embassy in Kosovo. He said that he is against the recognition of Kosovo. Whilst visiting Belgrade in 2014, he stated his opposition to the formation of an independent Kosovan army, equating it to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). He commented on the history of terrorist acts committed by the KLA, and noted that its disbanding was a component of the peace agreements. During the same visit, he said he hoped Serbia would join the European Union soon.
United States and NATO
Zeman, who played a role in the Czech Republic's accession to NATO, has called for a referendum on NATO membership, though he supports remaining in the organization. In November 2012, during a speech at the University of Economics, Prague, Zeman explained his dislike for Madeleine Albright, former US Secretary of State. Zeman stated that Albright had promised that there would be no bombardment of civilians during the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia. "And Madeleine Albright made a promise, and Madeleine Albright didn't keep the promise. Since then, I don't like her."
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On 18 May 2021, during a visit by the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, Zeman apologized to Serbia for the 1999 NATO bombing, describing it as a "mistake and worse than a crime".
Personal life
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In the 1970s, Zeman was married to Blanka Zemanová; the couple divorced in 1978. In 1993, he married his assistant Ivana Bednarčíková (born 29 April 1965).
He has an adult son named David from his first marriage. His daughter from the second, Kateřina Zemanová (born 1 January 1994), was one of the most visible faces in Zeman's presidential election team. In a post-election speech, Zeman asked her to be his "informal First Lady", as his wife is reportedly shy and does not like media attention. When asked about his religious beliefs, he describes himself as a "tolerant atheist".
..... He only slightly curbed his consumption of alcohol and cigarettes after being diagnosed with diabetes in 2015. He is also suffering from diabetic neuropathy in the feet, which causes him difficulties when walking and sometimes requires him to use a wheelchair. In March 2024, he was hospitalized in serious but stable condition and underwent surgery following a blood clot in his leg. He was discharged in April.
State awards
National
Former ex-officio Sovereign of the Order of the White Lion (8 March 2013 – 8 March 2023)
Former ex-officio Sovereign of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (8 March 2013 – 8 March 2023)
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Foreign
Austria: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (2 March 2023)
Germany: Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (5 May 2014)
Hungary: Grand Cross with Chain of the Hungarian Order of Merit (3 March 2023)
Israel: Recipient of the President's Medal (11 July 2022)
Jordan: Grand Cordon with Collar of the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali (11 February 2015)
North Macedonia: Recipient of the Order 8-September (9 June 2016)
Poland: Knight of the Order of the White Eagle (15 March 2016)
Serbia: Second Class of the Order of the Republic of Serbia (15 February 2020)
Slovakia: First Class of the Order of the White Double Cross (27 May 2014)
Slovenia: Recipient of the Order for Exceptional Merits (18 February 2016)
See also
In Spanish: Miloš Zeman para niños
