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Jan Zahradil

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Jan Zahradil
MEP
Zahradil in 2019
President of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party
In office
1 October 2009 – 1 April 2020
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byGiorgia Meloni
Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists
In office
8 March 2011 – 11 December 2011
Vice-ChairTimothy Kirkhope
Preceded byMichał Kamiński
Succeeded byMartin Callanan
Vice-Chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists
Czech Delegation
In office
11 December 2011 – 12 June 2014
ChairmanMartin Callanan
Served alongsideRyszard Legutko
Derk Jan Eppink
Geoffrey Van Orden
In office
24 June 2009 – 14 July 2009
ChairmanTimothy Kirkhope
Served alongsideAdam Bielan
Member of the European Parliament for the Czech Republic
In office
1 May 2004 – 15 July 2024
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
20 June 1998 – 20 July 2004
Member of the Federal Assembly
In office
6 June 1992 – 31 December 1992
Personal details
Born (1963-03-30) 30 March 1963 (age 61)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
NationalityCzech
Political partyCivic Democratic Party (1991–present)
Alma materUniversity of Chemistry and Technology, Prague
ProfessionScientist
Websitehttp://zahradil.eu

Jan Zahradil (born 30 March 1963) is a Czech politician for the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) who had been Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 to 2024. Zahradil also served as Member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP) from 1998 to 2004.

A scientific researcher by profession, Zahradil entered politics during the Velvet Revolution. He was a member of the Federal Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, before becoming an adviser to Prime Minister Václav Klaus. In 1998, he was elected to the national Chamber of Deputies. Three years later, he became vice-chairman of the ODS. Following an unsuccessful attempt to become chairman in 2002, he was appointed First Vice-chairman.[citation needed] From his election to the Chamber of Deputies until 2006 he was the ODS shadow minister for Foreign Affairs.

He was appointed an MEP on the Czech Republic's accession to the EU, in May 2004, and was elected at the top of the ODS's list at the June 2004 election. He was elected head of the Civic Democrats' delegation in the European Parliament, in which capacity he led the negotiations that founded the European Conservatives and Reformists. He was re-elected in 2009 and became vice-chairman of the newly founded ECR. In March 2011, Zahradil was elected Chairman, replacing Michał Kamiński. He also sits on the Parliament's Committee on Development.[citation needed]

Background

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Early life

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Zahradil was educated at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague, and after graduating in 1987, he became a scientific researcher until 1992. He speaks Czech, Slovak, English, Russian, German and Polish. He is married and has two children.[citation needed]

Domestic politics

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From 1990 until 1992, Zahradil was a Member of the Federal Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic. From 1995 until 1997 Zahradil was a foreign policy adviser to the Prime Minister, Václav Klaus. In 1998, Zahradil was elected as a Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic[1] and held that position until 2004.

In 2001, he was elected a vice-chairman of the ODS, and between 2002 and 2004, was the First Vice-chairman. In 2002, after the departure of Václav Klaus from the head of the ODS, he applied for the post of the chairman of the ODS, but finished third in the election behind Mirek Topolánek and Petr Nečas.[2]

He was also the vice-chairman of the ODS from 2014 to 2016.[3]

European Parliament

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In 2004, he was elected a Member of the European Parliament and was the Chairman of the ODS in the European Parliament. Between 2004 and 2009, ODS MEPs sat with the EPP-ED grouping in the European Parliament, but after the 2009 elections, several members of the EPP-ED left to join the newly formed European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) grouping, which was based on the Movement for European Reform, an alliance between ODS and the British Conservative Party. In his capacity as Chairman of ODS in the European Parliament, Zahradil reportedly led negotiations in forming the new group which after the European elections in 2014 become the third largest group in the European Parliament.

He was elected Vice Chairman of the ECR, sitting on the group's Executive. In March 2011, he was elected to replace Michał Kamiński as chairman of the group, defeating Timothy Kirkhope by 33 votes to 18.[citation needed]

After his re-election in 2014 he was elected vice-chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade.

In October 2018, he announced his intention to become the European Conservatives and Reformists Group's candidate for the European Commission presidency. He was endorsed by the ECR Group on 13 November 2018, making him the first Spitzenkandidat from Eastern Europe.[4]

Since the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) was founded in 2010 Jan Zahradil has been its president.[5]

Jan Zahradil with the other candidates for President of the European Commission, 2019

In 2023, he resigned from the position of chairman of the ODS MEP club. At the same time, he announced that he will no longer be a candidate in the European Parliament elections in 2024.[6][7] He was replaced by MEP Veronika Vrecionová as chairman of the ODS MEPs' club, MEP and several-time former Czech minister Alexandr Vondra became the leader of the ODS for the 2024 European Parliament elections.[8]

One of the reasons for Jan Zahradil's departure from European politics was probably the connection of his ODS with other Czech center-right parties, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL in the SPOLU coalition. Jan Zahradil was an obstacle to this connection with his Eurosceptic views.[9]

Jan Zahradil with the chairman of the ODS and later Prime Minister Petr Fiala

Azerbaijan Statements

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Jan Zahradil made controversial statements whitewashing European Parliament's criticisms on the state of human rights in Azerbaijan, mentioned in three European Parliament resolutions in the period of 2015–2018. He called the resolutions "short-sighted, one-sided, one-issue resolutions"[10] and argued that Azerbaijan is a "victim of political games" asserting that the EU should not sacrifice its partnership with Azerbaijan because of its geopolitical and energy significance for Europe.[11]

In April 2018 a Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe investigation revealed that Azerbaijan blindfolded several members of PACE, bringing into play the infamous caviar diplomacy to tone down and soothe criticism towards Azerbaijan. These members were subjected to sanctions.[12] Commenting on these events, Zahradil said: "The Council of Europe has made unilateral and biased decisions on Azerbaijan and it should be abolished".[13]

Political views

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Viewed as being an ideological protégé of former Czech President Václav Klaus, Jan Zahradil is a two track European Union reform advocate and economic liberal. As chairman of the EU trade commission he has overseen several bilateral trade agreements, most notably the FTA between Vietnam and the EU.

He has been described as Anglophile, Atlanticist, national liberal and libertarian, and holds liberal viewpoints on immigration and gay marriage.[14]

He is a critic of the Czech monarchists and the Habsburg dynastic family, which ruled the Czech state from 1526 to 1918, because of which in the past he got into a dispute with the Czech Christian Democrats and the Czech Catholic Church.[15][16]

In the current ODS, his views (e.g. on the European Union, on cooperation with former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš or on the overall concept of politics) can be described as minority, which is probably one of the reasons for his planned departure from the European Parliament.[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Parliament of the Czech Republic, Chamber of Deputies". Archived from the original on 26 April 2005. Retrieved 27 April 2005.
  2. ^ "Oprať ODS převzal Mirek Topolánek". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 15 December 2002. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Nový předseda ODS Fiala dostal velmi silný mandát. Druhým mužem strany je Zahradil". Radiožurnál (in Czech). 18 January 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Conservatives endorse Czech MEP for Commission top job". POLITICO. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE)". ACRE. Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Zahradil jako šéf klubu ODS v europarlamentu končí, kandidovat už nebude - Novinky". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Zahradil po 20 letech skončí v europarlamentu, příští rok nebude kandidovat". Seznam Zprávy (in Czech). 5 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Spolu zahájilo kampaň do eurovoleb. Půjde o střet demokratů se stranami jednoho muže, říká Vondra". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Zahradil jako šéf klubu ODS v europarlamentu končí, kandidovat už nebude". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  10. ^ "EU should engage with Azerbaijan or Putin will". 6 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Zahradil: Azerbaijan plays very crucial role in geopolitical transport and energy issues". 21 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Report of the Independent Investigation Body on the allegations of corruption within the Parliamentary Assembly" (PDF).
  13. ^ "Zahradil: Council of Europe should stop adoption of biased decisions on Azerbaijan". 21 June 2020.
  14. ^ Jay-Z is a fine politician and a fine man: a free-marketeer, a soft Eurosceptic, a flinty Czech patriot who is also a committed Anglophile and Atlanticist.
  15. ^ "Zahradil ve sporu s lidovci. Opřel se do Duky a monarchie, s Bělobrádkem se pohádal jako ve školce". CNN Prima NEWS (in Czech). Prima F. T. V. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Připomíná mu Habsburky. Zahradil demonstroval proti Mariánskému sloupu. Duka sloup požehnal". Echo24.cz (in Czech). 15 August 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Odmítaný Zahradil se loučil s ODS. Odcházím na střídačku, řekl a zastal se Babiše". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). Economia. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
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