Jiří Rusnok (born 16 October 1960) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

politician and economist who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic between June 2013 and January 2014. From 2016 to 2022 he served as the governor of the

Czech National Bank The Czech National Bank, ( cs, Česká národní banka, ČNB) is the central bank and financial market supervisor in the Czech Republic, headquartered in Prague. It is and a member of the European System of Central Banks. It was established on ...

. Previously, Rusnok served in the government of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 2001 to 2002 and as minister of Industry and Trade from 2002 to 2003. On 25 June 2013, he was appointed as the prime minister by President

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 2013. He previously served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

. Rusnok replaced

Petr Nečas Petr Nečas (; born 19 November 1964) is a Czech former politician who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic and leader of the Civic Democratic Party from 2010 to 2013, and as Member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP) from 1993 to 2013 ...

, who resigned over a corruption and spying affair. On 25 May 2016, President

appointed Rusnok as fourth governor of the

, succeeding Miroslav Singer. Rusnok took office on 1 July 2016. His second term ended on 30 June 2022, and from 1 Juky 2022 he was replaced by Aleš Michl.

Early life

Rusnok was born in Ostrava-Vítkovice. He studied at the University of Economics in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, graduating in 1984.

Career

Rusnok worked for ''Státní plánovací komise'' (State Planning Commission) and ''Federální ministerstvo pro strategické plánování'' (Federal Ministry for Strategic Planning). Before the so-called

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

, he was a candidate for membership in the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Comint ...

. In the 1990s, Rusnok worked as director of a department of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (19921998). He joined politics in 1998 as a member of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD). Prime Minister Miloš Zeman appointed Rusnok to his cabinet as Finance Minister in June 2001. He continued as Minister of Industry and Trade in the cabinet of

Vladimír Špidla Vladimír Špidla () (born 22 April 1951) is a Czech politician who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from July 2002 to August 2004 and as European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities from Novemb ...

; however, he resigned his post and parliamentary mandate and left politics in March 2003, after disagreements with Špidla. After that, he worked in the private sector.

Prime Minister

President Miloš Zeman appointed Rusnok as Prime Minister of a caretaker government in June 2013 in a move that was criticized by political parties in the Czech Republic. It was called irresponsible by the parties of the former coalition government ( ODS and

TOP 09 TOP 09 (name derived from cs, Tradice Odpovědnost Prosperita, lit=Tradition Responsibility Prosperity) is a liberal-conservative political party in the Czech Republic, led by Markéta Pekarová Adamová. TOP 09 holds 14 seats in the Chamber ...

), while the opposition (

ČSSD The Czech Social Democratic Party ( cs, Česká strana sociálně demokratická, ČSSD, ) is a social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic. Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum and holding pro-European views, it is a ...

) called for early elections. On 7 August 2013, Chamber of Deputies denied support to the caretaker government of Rusnok. His cabinet got support of 93 legislators, compared to 100 against, while seven legislators abstained. A majority of voting legislators was required. Following the vote, TOP 09 stated that due to a lack of support for a potential renewed ODS-TOP 09- LIDEM government, they would instead support an early election. The ČSSD and KSČM also supported an early election. In reaction, Rusnok signaled his intention to resign the next day: "I think this result is positive, as far as further political development in our country is concerned. It will lead to the dissolution of the parliament."

Governor of the Czech National Bank

In 2014, Zeman appointed Rusnok to the seven-member board of the

, replacing .Robert Muller (February 5, 2014)
Czech president appoints former PM Rusnok to central bank board
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

''. In 2016, he succeeded Miroslav Singer as the bank’s governor, again following an appointment by Zeman. In 2022, Zeman appointed as Rusnok's successor.

Other activities

European Systemic Risk Board The European Systemic Risk Board () is a group established on 16 December 2010 in response to the ongoing financial crisis. It is tasked with the macro-prudential oversight of the financial system within the European Union in order to contrib ...

(ESRB), Ex-Officio Member *

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

(IMF), Ex-Officio Alternate Member of the Board of Governors (since 2016)Members

(IMF).

Political position

Rusnok supports moving the Czech Republic closer to adopting the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. In 2014, he also backed the central bank’s policy of weakening the

Czech koruna The koruna, or crown, (sign: Kč; code: CZK, cs, koruna česká) has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's 9 currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro currenc ...

to fight deflation risks and help an economy recovering from a record-long recession.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusnok, Jiri 1960 births Czechoslovak economists Governors of the Czech National Bank Industry and Trade ministers of the Czech Republic Living people Politicians from Ostrava Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic Finance ministers of the Czech Republic Czech Social Democratic Party Government ministers Prague University of Economics and Business alumni