Miloš Zeman

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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