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'''Václav Klaus''' ({{IPA-cs|ˈvaːtslaf ˈklaus}}; born 19 June 1941 in [[Prague]]) is the second [[President of the Czech Republic]] (since 2003) and a former [[Prime Minister of the Czech Republic|Prime Minister]] (1992–1997).
'''Václav Klaus''' ({{IPA-cs|ˈvaːtslaf ˈklaus}}; born 19 June 1941 in [[Prague]]) is the second [[President of the Czech Republic]] (since 2003) and a former [[Prime Minister of the Czech Republic|Prime Minister]] (1992–1997). He is the fisrs [[faggot]], who became czech President.


An economist, he is co-founder of the [[Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic)|Civic Democratic Party]], the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party.<ref name="Klaus CV">{{cite web |url=http://www.hrad.cz/cms/en/prezident_cr/klaus.shtml |title=Curriculum Vitae of Vaclav Klaus |accessdate=10 July 2008 |date=5 March 2003 |publisher=Office of the President of the Republic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fee.org/publications/notes/notes/TheThreats.asp |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080627184428/http://www.fee.org/publications/notes/notes/TheThreats.asp |archivedate=27 June 2008 |title=The Threats to Liberty in the 21st century |accessdate=11 February 2008 |last=Klaus |first=Václav |date=6 May 2006 |publisher=[[Foundation for Economic Education]]}}</ref> Klaus is a [[eurosceptic]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4f30f2aa-b345-11de-ac13-00144feab49a.html |title=EU leaders brush off Czech threat to Lisbon |publisher=Ft.com |date=2009-10-07 |accessdate=2011-08-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=11:08PM BST 08 Oct 2009 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/6274961/Lisbon-Treaty-Czech-president-Vaclav-Klaus-sets-new-condition.html |title=Lisbon Treaty: Czech president Vaclav Klaus sets new condition |publisher=Telegraph.co.uk |date=2009-10-08 |accessdate=2011-08-16 |location=London}}</ref> but he reluctantly endorsed the [[Lisbon treaty]] as president of his country.<ref name="FT1"/> He has been called "the [[Margaret Thatcher]] of Central Europe".<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6878647.ece "Vaclav Klaus determined to weather the storm over Lisbon treaty veto"]. Roger Boyes. ''[[The Times]]''. 17 October 2009.</ref>
An economist, he is co-founder of the [[Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic)|Civic Democratic Party]], the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party.<ref name="Klaus CV">{{cite web |url=http://www.hrad.cz/cms/en/prezident_cr/klaus.shtml |title=Curriculum Vitae of Vaclav Klaus |accessdate=10 July 2008 |date=5 March 2003 |publisher=Office of the President of the Republic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fee.org/publications/notes/notes/TheThreats.asp |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080627184428/http://www.fee.org/publications/notes/notes/TheThreats.asp |archivedate=27 June 2008 |title=The Threats to Liberty in the 21st century |accessdate=11 February 2008 |last=Klaus |first=Václav |date=6 May 2006 |publisher=[[Foundation for Economic Education]]}}</ref> Klaus is a [[eurosceptic]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4f30f2aa-b345-11de-ac13-00144feab49a.html |title=EU leaders brush off Czech threat to Lisbon |publisher=Ft.com |date=2009-10-07 |accessdate=2011-08-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=11:08PM BST 08 Oct 2009 |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/6274961/Lisbon-Treaty-Czech-president-Vaclav-Klaus-sets-new-condition.html |title=Lisbon Treaty: Czech president Vaclav Klaus sets new condition |publisher=Telegraph.co.uk |date=2009-10-08 |accessdate=2011-08-16 |location=London}}</ref> but he reluctantly endorsed the [[Lisbon treaty]] as president of his country.<ref name="FT1"/> He has been called "the [[Margaret Thatcher]] of Central Europe".<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6878647.ece "Vaclav Klaus determined to weather the storm over Lisbon treaty veto"]. Roger Boyes. ''[[The Times]]''. 17 October 2009.</ref>

Revision as of 13:40, 18 November 2011

Václav Klaus
President of the Czech Republic
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 March 2003
Prime MinisterVladimír Špidla
Stanislav Gross
Jiří Paroubek
Mirek Topolánek
Jan Fischer
Petr Nečas
Preceded byVáclav Havel[1]
Chairperson of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
17 July 1998 – 20 June 2002
Preceded byMiloš Zeman
Succeeded byLubomír Zaorálek
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
In office
1 January 1993 – 17 December 1997
PresidentVáclav Havel
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJosef Tošovský
Prime Minister of the Czech Socialist Republic
In office
2 July 1992 – 1 January 1993
PresidentVáclav Havel
Preceded byPetr Pithart
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Minister of Finance of Czechoslovakia
In office
10 December 1989 – 2 July 1992
Prime MinisterMarián Čalfa
Preceded byJan Stejskal
Succeeded byJan Klak
Personal details
Born (1941-06-19) 19 June 1941 (age 83)
Prague, Bohemia and Moravia
(now Czech Republic)
Political partyIndependent (2009–present)
Other political
affiliations		Civic Democratic Party (Before 2009)
SpouseLivia Mištinová
Children2 sons
Alma materUniversity of Economics, Prague
Cornell University
ProfessionEconomist
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

Václav Klaus (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvaːtslaf ˈklaus]; born 19 June 1941 in Prague) is the second President of the Czech Republic (since 2003) and a former Prime Minister (1992–1997). He is the fisrs faggot, who became czech President.

An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party.[3][4] Klaus is a eurosceptic,[5][6] but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of his country.[7] He has been called "the Margaret Thatcher of Central Europe".[8]

Early life

Klaus grew up in the upper-middle class residential Vinohrady neighborhood of Prague and graduated from the University of Economics, Prague in 1963; he also spent some time at universities in Italy (1966) and at Cornell University in the United States (1969).

He then pursued a postgraduate academic career at the state Institute of Economics of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, which he left in 1970. He soon obtained a position in the Czechoslovakian State Bank, with permission to travel abroad, a rare privilege.[9]

From 1971 to 1986, he held various positions at the Czechoslovak State Bank, and in 1987 Klaus joined the Prognostics Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

Robert Eringer, a former American counterintelligence operative and later intelligence head of Monaco, has written that Klaus worked for the Communist secret police in a number of infiltration operations and that Russia still held archives of his activities.[10]

Rise to premiership

Klaus entered politics during the Velvet Revolution in 1989 during the second week of the uprising, when he offered his services to the Civic Forum, whose purpose was to unify the anti-authoritarian forces in Czechoslovakia and to overthrow the Communist regime. He became Czechoslovakia's Minister of Finance in the "government of national unity" on 10 December 1989.

In October 1990, Klaus was elected chairman of the Civic Forum. He continued as Prime Minister after the 1996 election.

Funding scandal

In 1997 Klaus was forced to step down as the Prime Minister due to a financing scandal in his party.[11]

President Václav Havel publicly referred to Klaus's economic policies as "gangster capitalism" and blamed him for corruption; Havel criticized Klaus's policy of voucher privatization and his cadre of close allies such as the dentist, politician, and entrepreneur Miroslav Macek.[12]

Defeats

At the mid-December IX. congress, Klaus was confirmed as chairman by 227 votes of 312 delegates; the defeated faction left ODS and in early 1998 established a new party named Freedom Union (Unie svobody, US) with president Václav Havel's sympathies.

The ODS lost the early elections in 1998 to Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD). Still, the results (unlike any following) would have allowed both parties to create a safe majority with smaller center parties. However, US chairman Jan Ruml refused to support ČSSD. Klaus struck an "opposition agreement" (opoziční smlouva) with ČSSD chairman Miloš Zeman, his traditional foe, though both also had much mutual respect: ODS tolerated Zeman's minority government in exchange for a share of control of positions and privatization revenue, including the Speaker of Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic for Klaus.[13] The Opposition Agreement led to public demonstrations, particularly against the attempt regulate Czech Television. This, in turn, caused Zeman to announce that he would not stand again for the post of prime minister.

ODS went to the elections of June 2002 relying on Klaus's image. At the polls, he was defeated by ČSSD's new leader Vladimír Špidla, who had rejected the opposition agreement. Eventually, Špidla created a left-center coalition. After long hesitation, and having suffered a loss in the October Senate elections, Klaus did not run for re-election at the December congress (which declared him honorary chairman).[14] Against his wishes, he was succeeded by Mirek Topolánek.[15]

Presidency

Standard of the President of Czechia
Further information: President of the Czech Republic § Electoral procedure, and election procedure and strategies

Having lost two general elections in a row, Klaus's hold on the ODS appeared to become weaker, and he announced his intention to step down from the leadership and run for President to succeed Václav Havel, who had been one of his greatest political opponents. However, the governing coalition, buffeted especially by feuds within ČSSD, was unable to agree on a common candidate to oppose him.

Klaus was elected President of the Czech Republic by secret ballot of the parliament on 28 February 2003 after two failed elections earlier in the month, in the third round of the election (both chambers vote on two top candidates jointly).[citation needed] He won with a majority of 142 votes out of 281. It was widely reported that Klaus won because of the support of Communist members of parliament, support which his opponent, Jan Sokol, publicly refused to accept. Klaus denied the charge that he owed the Communists any debt for his election.[16]

Vetos

Although Klaus regularly criticized Havel for having used his power to veto laws, and promised restraint, he exercises his veto more frequently than Havel,[17] generally labeling vetoed bills as illiberal, 'dangerous' and a threat to the country[citation needed]. He vetoed the Anti-Discrimination Law passed by parliament in 2008, saying it's a dangerous threat to personal freedoms as well as the bill implementing EU's Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals policy claiming it to be burdensome for private enterprises.

Eurosceptic beliefs

Klaus's euroscepticism, perhaps along with his scepticism about anthropogenic climate change, is the defining policy position of his presidency. He claimed that accession to the Union represented a significant reduction of Czech sovereignty and he chose not to give any recommendation before the 2003 accession referendum (77% voted yes).[citation needed]

Klaus's eurosceptic activism has involved writing many articles and giving many speeches against any sharing of sovereignty with the EU. He secured the publication of a work by the Irish Eurosceptic Anthony Coughlan. In 2005 Klaus called for the EU to be "scrapped" and replaced by a free trade area to be called the "Organisation of European States." He also attacked the EU as undermining freedom and being as big a threat as the Soviet Union.[citation needed]

In 2005 he remarked to a group of visiting U.S. politicians that the EU was a "failed and bankrupt entity." [citation needed]

Václav Klaus with Boris Tadić during the state visit to Serbia in 2008.

In November 2008 during his stay in Ireland after a state visit, he held a joint press conference with Declan Ganley, head of Libertas, which successfully campaigned for a No vote in the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Irish ministers called this "an inappropriate intervention", "unusual and disappointing".[18]

Another incident happened on 5 December 2008. Members of the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament visited Czechia prior to the start of the Czech presidency of the European Union, and met Václav Klaus at Prague Castle. Daniel Cohn-Bendit, chairman of Green Group, brought a European flag and presented it to Klaus.[19] Cohn-Bendit also said that he did not care about Klaus's opinions on the Treaty of Lisbon, that Klaus would simply have to sign it. Further, Brian Crowley told Klaus that the Irish wanted ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon and were insulted by Klaus's association with Declan Ganley and the lobby group Libertas. Klaus responded that "the biggest insult to the Irish people is not to accept the result of the referendum".[20] Crowley replied, "You will not tell me what the Irish think. As an Irishman, I know it best."[20] This visit was criticized by some in the media: "This bizarre confrontation...confirms the inability of the Euro-elite to accept that anyone holds different views from their own."[19]

Eurozone

Klaus is a long-term opponent of centrally implemented economic policy of the EU and the euro as a common currency of the eurozone countries. During the observance of the 10th anniversary of the euro in 2008 he expressed his beliefs in a Financial Times article:

If Europe does not wake up, it will face hard times. A common monetary policy will not help. Member countries already react differently to the appreciation of the euro against the dollar, the rising cost of energy, food or raw materials, and Asian competition. . . . In practice, the existence of euro has shown that forcing an economically disparate Europe into a homogeneous entity through a political decision is political engineering par excellence, far from beneficial for all countries concerned.[21]

Lisbon treaty

Klaus long refused to sign the Lisbon treaty, being the last to give his signature. European leaders however made clear that they would not let Klaus "hold them hostage".[7] Jan Fischer, Czech prime minister was confident Klaus would sign the treaty, saying: "There is no reason for anxiety in Europe. The question isn’t Yes or No, it’s only when." of the ratification process.[22]

As early as 2008 Klaus said, as he repeated in an interview with Czech television in November 2008:

I can only can repeat aloud one of my verdicts. If indeed all agree that the Lisbon Treaty is a 'golden nut' for Europe, that it must exist, and that there is one single person who would block it, and that person is the Czech president, so that is what I will not do. That is all. [23]

Russia and Russian energy companies

Vaclav Klaus and Vladimir Putin.

On some issues like energy policy, Klaus has sought cooperation with Russia.[9][24]

In the 1990s, Klaus promoted Czech oil and gas agreements with Russia and opposed other energy sources.[24] He wanted to block construction of a pipeline between the Czech Republic and Germany, which was to become the first non-Russian pipeline in the country.[24] Also, according to two former Czech security service directors, when he was Prime Minister, the Czech security service warned him that Russian organized crime was spreading in the Czech economy. For example, in one scheme, oil was imported to the Czech Republic as cooking oil and resold as diesel, which allegedly made billions of dollars to Semion Mogilevich. In response to the warnings, Klaus threatened to disband the security service.[9] Klaus was reportedly seen meeting SVR agents a number times after his corruption scandal in 1997.[10]

The Economist characterizes Klaus as one of Vladimir Putin's "warmest admirers abroad".[25] Klaus received the 2007 Pushkin Medal for the promotion of Russian culture from Putin due to his use of Russian with Putin and with Russian diplomats.[26][27][28] In Russia Klaus sees "challenges and successes, tremendous successes".[29]

After the August 2008 South Ossetia war broke out, he blamed Georgia. It was later found out that, after the war, Russian energy company Lukoil paid for the translation into Russian and subsequent distribution of Klaus's books on global warming.[24][30]

Klaus' former chief of staff is a director of CEEI, an energy company which was awarded a billion dollar contract by the government-owned CEZ Group. CEEI is believed to be controlled by Russia using a Liechtenstein front company U.B.I.E. and one of the other directors is in jail for kidnapping.[24]

In a May 2009 interview[31] for Lidové noviny, Klaus said Russia was not a threat but still a big, strong and ambitious country which the Czech authorities should beware more than the likes of Estonia and Lithuania should.[32]

In late November 2008 Klaus reportedly had a secret meeting with Putin's close confidant Vagit Alekperov, head of Lukoil. When asked about it, Klaus did not deny the reports.[24][30] The government later awarded a contract to Lukoil which raises the country's already heavy energy dependence on Russia.[24] Lukoil has reportedly also cultivated a number of other politicians including Milos Zeman, whose party has admitted taking money from Russian lobbyists.[24] Milos Zeman's close partner Miroslav Slouf has been called the "Cardinal Richelieu of Czech politics". Slouf is a former communist party apparatchik turned lobbyist who has been filmed on numerous occasions entering and leaving buildings belonging to the Russian embassy. The Czech media have been documenting secret meetings between Slouf and Klaus's aide Jiri Weigl who reportedly asked Slouf to exert his influence within the Social Democratic Party to back the Klauss bid for re-election in February 2008.[24][30]

Analysts[who?] have noted that Klaus's resistance to signing the Lisbon Treaty, despite being obligated to do so by Czech law, "put him in step with the Kremlin yet again, this time over one of Moscow's biggest foreign-policy goals: splitting European unity".[24]

Kosovo

Klaus joined Russia to oppose NATO bombings of FR Yugoslavia during the Kosovo crisis.[24]

Václav Klaus has many times voiced his disagreement with the unilateral Kosovo declaration of independence. During his visit to Slovakia in March 2008, Klaus categorically rejected the argument that Kosovo was a special case and said that it set a precedent as the countries recognizing Kosovo opened a Pandora's box in Europe that could have disastrous consequences, comparing it to the 1938 Munich treaty.[33][34] When Serbia recalled its ambassador in protest of Czech government's recognition of Kosovo, he was invited to the Prague Castle for a friendly farewell.[35] In his visit to Serbia in January, 2011, he also stated that during the time of his presidency the Czech Republic would not appoint an ambassador to Kosovo.[36]

Re-election

Main article: Czech presidential election, 2008

The Czech Presidential election of 2008 differed from past ones in that the voting was on the record, rather than by secret ballot. This was a precondition demanded by most[citation needed] of the Czech political parties after the last experience, but long opposed by Klaus's Civic Democratic Party[37] which had strengthened since 2003, already had the safe majority in the Senate even by itself and needed only to secure a few votes in the House for the third round.

Klaus's opponent was the former émigré, naturalized United States citizen and University of Michigan economics professor Jan Švejnar.[38] He was nominated by Green Party as the pro-EU moderate candidate, gaining the support of the leading opposition Czech Social Democratic Party, a smaller part of KDU-ČSL and some independent Senators. The first ballot on 8–9 February 2008 resulted in no winner. Švejnar won the Chamber of Deputies, but Klaus led in the assembly as a whole and barely failed to achieve the requisite majority.[37]

The second ballot on Friday 15 February 2008 brought a new candidate MEP Jana Bobošíková, nominated by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia. However not drawing any wider support, she withdrew her candidacy before the election itself.[38] The first and second rounds ended similarly to the previous weekend. However, Klaus consistently had 141 votes. Thus in the third round, where the only goal is to achieve a majority of all legislators present from both houses, Klaus won by the smallest possible margin.[clarification needed] Švejnar received 111 votes, the 29 Communists voting for neither.[39]

Klaus's first term as President concluded on Friday 7 March 2008; he took oath for the second term on the same day so as not to create a president-less interregnum since the Parliament could not otherwise come to a joint session before the following Tuesday. Thus, he lost the day of overlap and his second term will end on 6 March 2013.

Critic of anthropogenic global warming

Klaus is a vocal critic of the notion that any global warming is anthropogenic: "Global warming is a false myth and every serious person and scientist says so."[40] and if it is, that globally coordinated government action is necessary.[41] He has also criticized the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a group of politicized scientists with one-sided opinions and one-sided assignments. He has said that other top-level politicians do not expose their doubts about global warming because "a whip of political correctness strangles their voices."[42]

In addition he says, "Environmentalism should belong in the social sciences" along with other "isms" such as communism, feminism, and liberalism. Klaus said that "environmentalism is a religion" and, in an answer to the questions of the U.S. Congressmen, a "modern counterpart of communism" that seeks to change peoples' habits and economic systems.[40]

In a June 2007 Financial Times article, Klaus called ambitious environmentalism "the biggest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity", hinted that parts of the present political and scientific debate on the environment are suppressing freedom and democracy, and asked for readers opposing the term "scientific consensus", saying that "it is always achieved only by a loud minority, never by a silent majority".[43] In an online Q&A session following the article he wrote "Environmentalism, not preservation of nature (and of environment), is a leftist ideology... Environmentalism is indeed a vehicle for bringing us socialist government at the global level. Again, my life in communism makes me oversensitive in this respect."[44] He reiterated these statements at a showing of Martin Durkin's The Great Global Warming Swindle organised by his think tank CEP in June 2007, becoming the only head of state to endorse the film.[45] In November 2007 BBC World's Hardtalk Klaus called the interviewer "absolutely arrogant" for claiming that a scientific consensus embracing the bulk of the world had been reached on climate change and said that he was "absolutely certain" that people would look back in 30 years and thank him.[46]

At a September 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Klaus spoke of his disbelief in global warming, calling for a second IPCC to be set up to produce competing reports, and for countries to be left alone to set their priorities and prepare their own plans for the problem.[47]

In 2007, Klaus published a book titled Modrá, nikoli zelená planeta (literally "Blue planet – not green"). The book has been translated from the Czech into various languages.[48] The title in English, which is not a direct translation, is "Blue Planet in Green Shackles". It claims that "The theory of global warming and the hypothesis on its causes, which has spread around massively nowadays, may be a bad theory, it may also be a valueless theory, but in any case it is a very dangerous theory."

At the September 2009 UN Climate Change Conference, Klaus again voiced his disapproval, calling the gathering "propagandistic" and "undignified."[49]

On July 26, 2011 at the National Press Club Address, Klaus pronounced himself yet again against global warming calling it "a communist conspiracy".[50]

Other activities

In 1995, as Prime Minister, he applied for and was awarded the degree of Professor of Finance from his alma mater, so he is sometimes addressed as "Mr. Professor" as is customary in the Czech Republic. As the president, Klaus occasionally teaches a seminar course in economics at the University of Economics. The course focuses on Klaus's free-market concerns.

His defining issue since 1990 has been an enthusiasm for the free market economy as exemplified by Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman.[51] According to Klaus, legislation and institutions cannot be created before economic transformation, they have to go hand in hand.[52]

Since 1990, Václav Klaus has received nearly 50 honorary degrees, among them, one from Universidad Francisco Marroquín[53] and published more than 20 books on various social, political, and economics subjects. Klaus is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. He has published articles in the libertarian free-market Cato Journal. On 28 May 2008, Klaus gave the keynote address at an annual dinner hosted by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market advocacy group in Washington, D.C., and received its Julian L. Simon Memorial Award.

Klaus became the foreign member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 2009.[54]

Chilean pen incident

In April 2011, Klaus was seen taking a pen during a state visit to Chile.[55] The "theft", caught on television cameras, was widely reported around the world and has been dubbed an "international event"[56] causing a "diplomatic stir".[57]

Australian Parliament House incident

In July 2011, during a visit to Canberra, the national capital of Australia, Klaus declined to pass through electronic security at the Australian Parliament House in order to be interviewed by ABC Television at its studio. Australian Broadcasting Corporation staff tried to convince security staff to allow the President to bypass security but they declined the request, and Klaus left the building.[58] Klaus commented that it was not an issue of passing through the electronic security system, rather of handling the whole situation. Firstly, when he and his entourage arrived on time, nobody was expecting him. After waiting for ten minutes in front of the building, a worker of the ABC Television invited him in, where he was left "among perhaps as many as hundred school children". After a few minutes he found out that the whole group was waiting for a security clearance. Klaus refused to waste more time waiting in line behind the school children and offered ABC Television to conduct the interview in his hotel, which ABC declined as it was already set up for the interview in the Parliament House studio.[58][59] Klaus' approach was further backed up by the president’s office head of protocol, Jindřich Forejt, who described his boss’ Australian treatment as “incredible.” Style-etiquette guru Ladislav Špaček further commented that "it is absolutely out of place to check a head of state; it is disrespectful. I am not at all surprised that Klaus turned around and went off. He should not be there trying to agree with some operative that he is not a terrorist."[60]

Resignation

On 7 December 2008, Bém stood against Topolánek for the post of ODS chairman at the ODS party congress.[61] Bém lost by 284 votes to 162,[61] and was replaced as first deputy chairman for the ODS by David Vodrážka.[61] Klaus had resigned as honorary ODS chairman the day before.[61]

Personal life

Václav Klaus is married to Livia Rosamunda Klausová, a Slovak economist. They have two sons, Václav (a private secondary school headmaster) and Jan (an economist), and five grandchildren.[3]

It has been claimed that Klaus has had several extramarital affairs. The first, in 1991, was with Eva Svobodová.[62] In summer 2002, Klaus was photographed by a tabloid as having a "special relationship" with 24-year-old economy student Klára Lohniská.[63] One paper claimed he spent the night after his second presidential inauguration (7 March 2008) with 25-year-old Petra Bednářová.[64]

State Awards

Country Awards[65] Date
 Austria Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Grand Star 5/2009
 Lithuania Order of Vytautas the Great Grand Cross 4/2009
 Poland Order of the White Eagle 7/2007
 Russia Medal of Pushkin 12/2007
 Saxony Saxon Merit Cross 5/2008
 Spain Order of Isabella the Catholic 1st Class 9/2004

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Vlažné přijetí a ateismus Čechů, píší světové agentury". Týden.cz (originally ČTK). Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Curriculum Vitae of Vaclav Klaus". Office of the President of the Republic. 5 March 2003. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  4. ^ Klaus, Václav (6 May 2006). "The Threats to Liberty in the 21st century". Foundation for Economic Education. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  5. ^ "EU leaders brush off Czech threat to Lisbon". Ft.com. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  6. ^ 11:08PM BST 08 Oct 2009 (8 October 2009). "Lisbon Treaty: Czech president Vaclav Klaus sets new condition". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ a b "Klaus opposition to Lisbon ignored". Ft.com. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  8. ^ "Vaclav Klaus determined to weather the storm over Lisbon treaty veto". Roger Boyes. The Times. 17 October 2009.
  9. ^ a b c [1]. Business News Europe. 21 January 2009
  10. ^ a b Dark secret of new EU president Vaclav Klaus. 22 December 2008. Robert Edlinger.
  11. ^ Richter, Jan (7 February 2008). "Václav Klaus: the experienced and predictable". Radio Prague. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  12. ^ Bilefsky, Dan. The New York Times http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/vaclav_klaus/index.html. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ "Constitution Watch: A country-by-country update on constitutional politics in Eastern Europe and the ex-USSR". East European Constitutional Review. 7 (3). New York University School of Law and Central European University. 1998. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  14. ^ "XIII. kongres ODS" (in Czech). Občanská demokratická strana. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  15. ^ Petržílková, Eva (15 December 2002). "Zprávy: Nástupcem Václava Klause v čele ODS se stal nečekaně Mirek Topolánek" (in Czech). Radio Prague. Retrieved 9 July 2008. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  16. ^ "News - 02-03-2003 19:59 - Radio Prague". Radio.cz. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  17. ^ Havlín, Tomáš (9 June 2006). "Klaus už překonal Havla. Vetoval víc zákonů". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). Czech Republic. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  18. ^ "Martin says Klaus comments on Lisbon 'inappropriate'". The Irish Times. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  19. ^ a b Booker, Christopher (14 December 2008). "Czech leader in shock after EU assault". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  20. ^ a b National Platform for EU Research & Information (7 December 2008). "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner: Václav Klaus, Cohn-Bendit, Pöttering, Brian Crowley". Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  21. ^ "Ten Years of Euro: A Reason for Celebration?". Financial Times. 12 June 2008.
  22. ^ EU leaders brush off Czech threat to Lisbon, Financial Times, 7 October 2009
  23. ^ Klaus: Lisabonská smlouva změní postavení ČR, 25.11.2008, České noviny, news server of ČTK
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Czech Power Games: How Russia Is Rebuilding Influence In The Former Soviet Bloc. RFE/EL. 26 September 2010
  25. ^ Russia and central Europe – Pretty pictures. 2 March 2006. The Economist.
  26. ^ Robert Eringer, Vaclav Klaus Exposed: http://recolumns.blogspot.com/2010/10/vaclac-klaus-exposed.html
  27. ^ ČTK (27 December 2007). "Czech president receives Russian Pushkin Medal". Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  28. ^ Lazarová, Daniela (27 December 2007). "News: President Klaus receives Pushkin Medal". Radio Prague. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  29. ^ Burnett, David (13 March 2005). "10 Questions For Vaclav Klaus". TIME. Time Inc. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  30. ^ a b c Russian Energy Companies Expand Their Operations in Central Europe. Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 55. 23 March 2009
  31. ^ "Interview for Lidové Noviny". 16 May 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  32. ^ Rettman, Andrew (25 May 2009). "Tensions at EU-Russia Summit". BusinessWeek. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  33. ^ "Kosovo threatens to cause split in Czech government". B92. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  34. ^ Dujisin, Zoltán (14 March 2008). "EUROPE: To Recognise Kosovo Or Not". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  35. ^ "Česi ispratili ambasadora Srbije uz izvinjenja" (in Template:Sr icon). Pressonline.rs. Retrieved 16 August 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  36. ^ "Blic Online | Klaus: Dok sam ja predsednik, neće biti ambasadora na Kosovu". Blic.rs. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  37. ^ a b Larcom, Geoff (14 February 2008). "Prague's politics a sight to see". Ann Arbor News. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  38. ^ a b Janicek, Karel (15 February 2008). "U-M prof loses bid for president of Czech Republic". Associated Press. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  39. ^ "Klaus re-elected Czech president". Xinhua News Agency. 15 February 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  40. ^ a b Barillas, Martin (10 March 2007). "Czech president: Environmentalism is a religion". Spero News. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  41. ^ "Global warming: truth or propaganda?". Financial Times. 21 June 2007. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  42. ^ "Czech president derogates UN global-warming panel". m&c News. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  43. ^ Klaus, Vaclav (13 June 2007). "Freedom, not climate, is at risk". Financial Times. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  44. ^ "Global warming: truth or propaganda?". Financial Times. 21 June 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  45. ^ "Klaus uvedl film o podvodu s globálním oteplováním". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). Czech Republic. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  46. ^ "BBC News Hardtalk: Vaclav Klaus". BBC News. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  47. ^ Václav Klaus (24 September 2007). "Notes for the speech of the President of the Czech Republic at the UN Climate Change Conference" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  48. ^ Václav Klaus. "FAES - Foundation for social studies and analysis". Fundacionfaes.org. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  49. ^ "UN climate meeting was propaganda: Czech president". Reuters. 22 September 2009.
  50. ^ "President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic at the National Press Club Address". ABC. 26 July 2011.
  51. ^ John Fund from the June 1990 issue. "No Third Way Out - Reason Magazine". Reason.com. Retrieved 16 August 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  52. ^ "Klaus: České banky dělaly před lety stejné chyby jako ty americké před krizí". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). Czech Republic. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  53. ^ Honorary Doctoral Degrees at Universidad Francisco Marroquín,
  54. ^ "Novi članovi SANU-a". B92.net. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  55. ^ Wilson, Jenny (14 April 2011). "Czech Who's Watching: President Vaclav Klaus Pockets a Pen, World Catches Him". TIME.com. Time Inc. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  56. ^ "Swiped pen is an international event". Kansas City Star. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  57. ^ "Czech president steals pen". telegraph.co.uk. London: Telegraph Media Group. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  58. ^ a b Czech bounced: president denied entry to Parliament, Jeremy Thompson, ABC Online, 27 July 2011
  59. ^ Klaus: Na bezpečnostní rám jsem nechtěl čekat se stovkou školáků (in Czech), novinky.cz, 27 July 2011
  60. ^ Czech President backed by protocol buffs, not public on security clash, Czech Position, 27 July 2011
  61. ^ a b c d "Breakfast Brief" (PDF). Prague Daily Monitor. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  62. ^ Charter, David (9 April 2008). "Vaclav Klaus admits having affair with airline attendant no 3". The Times. UK. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  63. ^ "Odhalené milenky českých celebrit". BLESK.CZ. Ringier Axel Springer CZ a.s. 11. September 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  64. ^ "Václav Klaus nachytán s další blondýnou". Novinky.cz (in Czech). 11 March 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  65. ^ "State Decorations". Retrieved 17 August 2010.
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Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of the Czech Socialist Republic
1992–1993 		Position abolished
New office Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
1993–1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairperson of the Chamber of Deputies
1998–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Czech Republic
2003–present 		Incumbent

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