Miroslav Kalousek

Miroslav Kalousek
MP
Leader of TOP 09
In office
29 November 2015 – 26 November 2017
Preceded by Karel Schwarzenberg
Succeeded by Jiří Pospíšil
Minister of Finance
In office
13 July 2010 – 10 July 2013
Prime Minister Petr Nečas
Preceded by Eduard Janota
Succeeded by Jan Fischer
In office
9 January 2007 – 8 May 2009
Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek
Preceded by Vlastimil Tlustý
Succeeded by Eduard Janota
Leader of KDU-ČSL
In office
8 November 2003 – 25 August 2006
Preceded by Cyril Svoboda
Succeeded by Jiří Čunek
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
Assumed office
20 June 1998
Personal details
Born (1960-12-17) 17 December 1960
Tábor, Czechoslovakia
(now Czech Republic)
Political party KDU-ČSL (1984-2009)
TOP 09 (2009-present)
Children 2
Alma mater UCT Prague
Website www.miroslav-kalousek.cz

Miroslav Kalousek (born 17 December 1960) is a Czech politician, former leader of KDU-ČSL and TOP 09, and has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP) since 1998. He served twice as Finance Minister in the cabinets of Mirek Topolánek and then again from 2010 to 2013 in the government of Petr Nečas.

Early life

He studied chemistry at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague and then worked at the Ministry of Defense where he was responsible for the budget and acquisitions from 1993 to 1998.

Political career

In 1998, Kalousek was elected as MP on the ticket of the Christian Democrats, the party he led from 2003 until his departure in 2006.

The 2006 parliamentary election resulted in a situation where no party or coalition of parties was able to form a viable government. Over a period of many months a number of alternatives were negotiated with no result. On 24 August 2006 Kalousek unexpectedly accepted an offer from Jiří Paroubek to start negotiations on a minority government of KDU-ČSL and the Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) which would be supported by the Communists. The presidium of the party expressed no objections.[1] Such negotiations were in conflict with the pre-election promises and the vocal anti-communist stance of the party and its electorate.[2][3] On 25 August 2006 mass protests by KDU-ČSL members, regional organisations and members of parliament went public. The party group in Brno (the biggest regional organisation) rejected the negotiated solution and asked for the resignation of Kalousek and of 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.[2] On the evening of the same day the country-wide committee of KDU-ČSL refused the proposal by an overwhelming majority and Kalousek resigned. He has claimed his negotiation with Jiří Paroubek was part of a plan to prevent a government coalition of ČSSD and the [[Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic)|Civic Democratic Party (ODS), which otherwise seemed to be the most likely scenario. That goal in fact came to pass when ODS refused to participate in a "grand coalition" and created its own government with minority support in the Parliament.

In 2007, Kalousek was appointed as a Finance Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, a position he held until 2007 when Topolánek's cabinet lost a vote of no-confidence.

In 2009, Kalousek and Karel Schwarzenberg co-founded a pro-European, center-right and conservative political party, TOP 09, that found success in the 2010 legislative election and the party formed a coalition government with the Civic Democrats (ODS) and Public Affairs (VV), a move that secured the Ministry of Finance for Kalousek for the second time.

Kalousek was re-elected as MP in the 2013 legislative election but lost the post of Finance Minister. In 2015, he was elected as Leader of TOP 09, succeeding Karel Schwarzenberg.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Vedení KDU-ČSL za Kalouskem nestálo, ale neřeklo to", novinky.cz, 28 August 2006, accessed 30 August 2006
  2. 1 2 Lidovci v krajích žádají rezignaci vedení strany, ČeskéNoviny.cz, ČTK, 25 August 2006, accessed 30 August 2006
  3. ↑ KDU-ČSL ukončila jednání s ČSSD, Kalousek rezignuje, ČeskéNoviny.cz, ČTK, 25 August 2006, accessed 30 August 2006
  4. ↑ "Kalousek se stal předsedou TOP 09. Ve vedení budou nově i tři ženy". lidovky.cz. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
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