Miroslav Kalousek
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Miroslav Kalousek (born 17 December 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 *Czech (surnam ...
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
, former leader of
KDU-ČSL KDU-ČSL (In Czech language, Czech, the initials of the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party; ), often shortened to ("the populars"), is a Christian democracy, Christian democratic list of political parties in the Czec ...
and
TOP 09 TOP 09 (, ) is a liberal-conservative list of political parties in the Czech Republic, political party in the Czech Republic, led by Markéta Adamová, Markéta Pekarová Adamová. 14 of its members sit in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Rep ...
, and a member of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
(MP) from 1998 until his resignation in 2021. He served twice as
Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
in the cabinets of
Mirek Topolánek Mirek Topolánek (, born 15 May 1956) is a Czech Republic, Czech politician and business manager who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 2006 to 2009 and the leader of the Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic), Civic Democr ...
and then again from 2010 to 2013 in the government of Petr Nečas.


Early life

Kalousek was born in Tábor. He studied
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
at the
Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...
. Between 1984 and 1990, Kalousek worked as a technician at the company Mitas Praha. After the
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...
, Kalousek became a member of the state service. From 1993 to 1998, he was a deputy minister at the Ministry of Defense, responsible for the budget, army restructuring and acquisitions.


Political career


Christian Democrats

In 1998, Kalousek was elected as an MP for the Christian Democrats. He was leader of the party from 2003 until 2006. The 2006 parliamentary election resulted in no party or coalition of parties being able to form a viable government. Over several months a number of alternatives were negotiated with no result. On 24 August 2006 Kalousek unexpectedly accepted an offer from
Jiří Paroubek Jiří Paroubek (; born 21 August 1952) is a Czech politician, who was the prime minister of the Czech Republic from April 2005 to September 2006. He was also the leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party from 2006 until his resignation follo ...
to start negotiations on a minority government of KDU-ČSL and the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
(ČSSD) which would be supported by the
Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
. The presidium of the party expressed no objections.Vedení KDU-ČSL za Kalouskem nestálo, ale neřeklo to
", novinky.cz, 28 August 2006, accessed 30 August 2006
Such negotiations were in conflict with pre-election promises and the vocal anti-communist stance of the party and its electorate.Lidovci v krajích žádají rezignaci vedení strany
ČeskéNoviny.cz, ČTK, 25 August 2006, accessed 30 August 2006
KDU-ČSL ukončila jednání s ČSSD, Kalousek rezignuje
ČeskéNoviny.cz, ČTK, 25 August 2006, accessed 30 August 2006
On 25 August 2006 mass protests by KDU-ČSL members, regional organisations and members of parliament went public. The party group in
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
(the biggest regional organisation) rejected the negotiated solution and requested the resignation of Kalousek and the whole presidium of KDU-ČSL. Other organisations made similar demands. Some members of parliament declared that they would refuse to support such a government. That evening the national committee of KDU-ČSL rejected the proposal by a large majority and Kalousek resigned. He has claimed his negotiation with Paroubek was intended to prevent a governing coalition of ČSSD and the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), which seemed like the most likely alternative scenario. In the end, ODS refused to participate in a "grand coalition" and formed a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
. In 2007, Kalousek was appointed as Finance Minister in Mirek Topolánek's cabinet, a position he held until the cabinet lost a
vote of no-confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...
in 2009.


TOP 09

In 2009, Kalousek and
Karel Schwarzenberg Karel Schwarzenberg (, 10 December 1937 – 12 November 2023) was a Czech politician, diplomat and statesman who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic), Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic from 2007 to 2009 and ...
co-founded
TOP 09 TOP 09 (, ) is a liberal-conservative list of political parties in the Czech Republic, political party in the Czech Republic, led by Markéta Adamová, Markéta Pekarová Adamová. 14 of its members sit in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Rep ...
, a
pro-European Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Pol ...
, center-right, conservative political party. TOP 09 entered the parliament in the 2010 legislative election and joined a
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
with ODS and Public Affairs (VV), with Kalousek becoming
Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
for the second time. Kalousek was re-elected as an MP in the 2013 legislative election, but lost the post of
Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
. In 2015, he was elected as leader of
TOP 09 TOP 09 (, ) is a liberal-conservative list of political parties in the Czech Republic, political party in the Czech Republic, led by Markéta Adamová, Markéta Pekarová Adamová. 14 of its members sit in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Rep ...
, succeeding
Karel Schwarzenberg Karel Schwarzenberg (, 10 December 1937 – 12 November 2023) was a Czech politician, diplomat and statesman who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic), Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic from 2007 to 2009 and ...
. He announced in July 2020 that he would not be standing for election again, and resigned as an MP on 19 January 2021, arguing that the Chamber of Deputies would become a campaigning platform for the upcoming elections and seats should therefore be occupied by MPs due to stand in those elections. Following his departure from politics he began presenting a show on
TV Barrandov TV Barrandov is a Czech television channel, launched in 2009. It was founded and started to broadcast in 2009. It currently broadcasts in Czech. In 2015 after Chinese company CEFC China Energy invested in TV Barrandov's parent company Empresa M ...
called ''Hovory Kalousek Soukup''. On 1 October 2024, Kalousek left the party, citing differences of opinion. Media have been speculating about his possible political comeback. He is said to launch a new political party before the parliamentary election in 2025. As of October 29th 2024, he hasn’t either confirmed nor denied the speculations, despite being frequently asked by journalists.


Political positions

Kalousek is a
centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
, with neutral views on some civil rights issues such as
same sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% ...
. He called on members of parliament to vote for the bill in 2023, despite being conservative and seeing the word "marriage" as a symbol. His economic policies as Finance Minister during the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
were conservative, with an emphasis on fiscal caution and cutting government spending in order to balance the state budget as far as possible. Some of these policies were unpopular during his time in office, and were seen as too strict by some, but effective by others. Kalousek is known for his pro-Tibet views, as well as his opposition to China's and Russia's foreign policies. Like many Czech politicians he supports
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.


Public image

Kalousek was named the best Minister of Finance of the 31 European developing economies in 2008, and again in 2011. In 2012, he was named "the most trusted finance minister of the European Union". Kalousek frequently clashed with
Andrej Babiš Andrej Babiš (; born 2 September 1954) is a Czech businessman and politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, prime minister of the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as the Finance Minister of the Cze ...
following the latter's entry into Czech politics with his
ANO 2011 ANO (), registered as ANO 2011, is a right-wing populist political party in the Czech Republic, led by businessman Andrej Babiš, who served as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. Formed in 2011, the party finished second i ...
party. Babiš led a negative campaign against Kalousek, describing him as a "symbol of corruption", and "a drunk and a thief" during parliamentary debates in 2015 and 2018. After the former incident, Kalousek took an alcohol test to prove that he was not drunk. His popularity among the Czech public dropped steadily prior to his resignation from the Chamber of Deputies; in 2017 he was the least trusted Czech politician, with 81% of respondents to an opinion poll saying they mistrusted him. However, Kalousek remains a significant figure in Czech politics. He’s been largely critical of Petr Fiala’s cabinet, despite being a member of one of the ruling parties (
TOP 09 TOP 09 (, ) is a liberal-conservative list of political parties in the Czech Republic, political party in the Czech Republic, led by Markéta Adamová, Markéta Pekarová Adamová. 14 of its members sit in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Rep ...
) until he left in October 2024.


References


External links


Official biography


{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalousek, Miroslav 1960 births Living people People from Tábor TOP 09 MPs Leaders of KDU-ČSL Government ministers of the Czech Republic Finance ministers of the Czech Republic KDU-ČSL MPs Leaders of TOP 09 KDU-ČSL Government ministers TOP 09 Government ministers Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (1998–2002) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2002–2006) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2006–2010) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2010–2013) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2013–2017) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2017–2021) University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague alumni TV Barrandov people