Přemysl Sobotka (born 18 May 1944 in Mladá Boleslav) is a Czech physician and politician who served as the

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

from 2004 to 2010. Sobotka was a candidate in

2013 Czech presidential election Presidential elections were held in the Czech Republic in January 2013, the country's first direct election for the presidency. No candidate received a majority of the votes in the first round on 11–12 January, so a second round runoff electio ...

, in January 2013. In the first round of the election he placed 8th with 2.46% (126,846 votes), failing to qualify for the second round.

Early life and career

After the Nazi occupation during World War II Sobotka's family moved to

Liberec Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants and it is the fifth-largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preser ...

, where he still lives and where his father worked as a teacher. Sobotka graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , underg ...

in 1968 as

MUDr. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

and entered the surgical department of the Liberec Hospital, where he transferred to the X-ray department after two years. From 1991 to 1996 he was a senior consultant and Head of the Radiology Department.

Political career

Sobotka's political career started in the

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 ...

in 1989. He was a member of the

Civic Forum The Civic Forum ( Czech: ''Občanské fórum'', OF) was a political movement in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The corresponding movement in Slovakia was called Public Against Violence ( Slova ...

and joined the right-wing

Civic Democratic Party Civic Democratic Party may refer to: *Civic Democratic Party (Bosnia and Herzegovina), a political party in Bosnia *Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic), a political party in the Czech Republic **Civic Democratic Party (Slovakia), former Slovak ...

after its foundation in 1991. He is a chairman of its Liberec regional organisation. He served as Councillor in the City of Liberec from 1990 to 1998. He was elected member of the Senate for the Liberec constituency for a shortened term of two years in the first Senate election held in 1996, and re-elected for two full six-year terms in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. He was elected Vice President of the Senate several times. He was elected President of the Senate for a two-year term on 15 December 2004, and re-elected for another two-year term in 2006.

Personal life

He has two daughters from his first marriage, called Věra and Martina. He also has a stepson called Prokop from his second marriage. His wife, Radmila, worked as a nurse.

References

External links

Personal website

the Senate website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobotka, Premysl 1944 births Charles University alumni Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic) Senators Living people Politicians from Liberec Candidates in the 2013 Czech presidential election Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic) presidential candidates Presidents of the Senate of the Czech Republic Czechoslovak physicians Czech radiologists