Bohuslav Sobotka facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bohuslav Sobotka
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Sobotka in 2017
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| Prime Minister of the Czech Republic | |
| In office 17 January 2014 – 13 December 2017 |
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| President | Miloš Zeman |
| Deputy | Andrej Babiš (2014–17) Pavel Bělobrádek Richard Brabec |
| Preceded by | Jiří Rusnok |
| Succeeded by | Andrej Babiš |
| Leader of the Social Democratic Party | |
| In office 29 May 2010 – 15 June 2017 Acting: 29 May 2010 – 21 March 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Jiří Paroubek |
| Succeeded by | Milan Chovanec |
| In office 26 April 2005 – 13 May 2006 Acting |
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| Preceded by | Stanislav Gross |
| Succeeded by | Jiří Paroubek |
| Minister of Industry and Trade Acting |
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| In office 1 March 2017 – 4 April 2017 |
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| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Jan Mládek |
| Succeeded by | Jiří Havlíček |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 12 July 2002 – 4 September 2006 |
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| Prime Minister | Vladimír Špidla Stanislav Gross Jiří Paroubek |
| Preceded by | Jiří Rusnok |
| Succeeded by | Vlastimil Tlustý |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 1 June 1996 – 31 March 2018 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 October 1971 Telnice, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Spouse |
Olga Pekárková
(m. 2003; div. 2018) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Masaryk University |
| Signature |  |
Bohuslav Sobotka (born 23 October 1971) is a Czech politician and lawyer. He served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from January 2014 to December 2017. He was also the leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) from 2010 until June 2017.
Sobotka was a member of the Chamber of Deputies, which is like a parliament, from 1996 to 2018. Before becoming prime minister, he was the Minister of Finance from 2002 to 2006.
In 2002, Sobotka became the Finance Minister. He was later promoted to Deputy Prime Minister in 2003. He continued as Finance Minister under other prime ministers. In 2005, he became the First Deputy Prime Minister. After the 2006 election, his party was not in power, so he became an opposition member of parliament.
In 2011, he was chosen as the leader of the Social Democrats. This made him the Leader of the Opposition.
After the 2013 election, President Miloš Zeman appointed Sobotka as prime minister on 17 January 2014. A few weeks later, he formed a government with his party (ČSSD) and two other parties, ANO 2011 and KDU-ČSL.
His government worked on several important things. They tried to stop tax evasion (people avoiding paying taxes) by using electronic sales records. They also improved relations with China and changed the police system. They also put a smoking ban in place. Sobotka often disagreed with President Miloš Zeman on various issues. Sobotka was the first prime minister in 15 years to complete his full term in office.
On 14 June 2017, Sobotka stepped down as the leader of his party. This happened because his party's support was low before the 2017 election. However, he stayed on as prime minister for a while longer. He was re-elected as a member of parliament in his home region. In December 2017, Andrej Babiš took over as prime minister. Sobotka left the Chamber of Deputies on 31 March 2018 for personal reasons.
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Early Life and Education
Bohuslav Sobotka was born in Telnice, a town in the Czech Republic. He later moved to Slavkov u Brna with his family. He studied law at Masaryk University and earned a Master's degree.
Political Journey
Sobotka began his political career when he was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1996. This is where laws are made in the Czech Republic.
Serving as Finance Minister
From 2002 to 2006, Sobotka was the Finance Minister of the Czech Republic. In this role, he was in charge of the country's money and economy. He created a group of economic experts to help him. At first, he tried to save money by reducing government spending. Later, when Jiří Paroubek became prime minister in 2005, Sobotka made some changes that led to more government spending.
After the 2006 election, his party lost, and he became part of the opposition. He continued to work on financial matters for his party. In the 2010 election, his party won, but they couldn't form a government, so they stayed in opposition.
Sobotka also served as the temporary leader of the ČSSD party twice. First in 2006 and then again in 2010. On 18 March 2011, he was officially elected as the party's chairman.
Leading the Social Democratic Party
Sobotka led his party in the 2013 election, where they won 20.45% of the votes. After leading the party for about seven years, Sobotka resigned as party leader on 15 June 2017. He said the party needed big changes to connect better with people. Even though he stepped down as leader, he still ran in the 2017 election as a party candidate in his region. After he resigned, Milan Chovanec became the acting leader, and Lubomír Zaorálek became the party's candidate for prime minister.
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (2014–2017)
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Bohuslav Sobotka became prime minister on 17 January 2014. His government was officially appointed by President Miloš Zeman on 29 January 2014. His government was a team made up of members from three parties: the ČSSD, ANO 2011, and Christian and Democratic Union–Czechoslovak People's Party.
He was the 11th prime minister of the Czech Republic. His government had a strong majority with 111 out of 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
Sobotka believed that being a member of the European Union was good for the Czech Republic. He said it brought better safety and economic stability. However, in 2016, he mentioned there might be a national discussion about the country's place in the EU if the United Kingdom left.
In May 2015, the opposition tried to remove his government from power. They called for a vote of no confidence because of issues with Finance Minister Andrej Babiš. But the attempt failed, and his government stayed in power.
In December 2016, Sobotka suggested that large companies should pay higher taxes. He believed that big companies were sending their profits out of the Czech Republic, which meant less money for the country.
On 2 May 2017, Sobotka announced he would resign because he felt responsible for issues related to Finance Minister Andrej Babiš. However, he changed his mind a few days later and instead decided to remove Babiš from his government.
On 15 June 2017, Sobotka resigned as the leader of his party, the ČSSD.
After Being Prime Minister
In January 2018, Sobotka returned to his hometown of Vyškov. He said he wanted to continue his political work. On 22 March 2018, he announced that he would leave his position as a member of the Chamber of Deputies on 1 April 2018.
Personal Life
Bohuslav Sobotka was married to Olga Sobotková from 2003 to 2018. They have two sons named David and Martin. In his free time, Sobotka enjoys reading historical mystery books, sci-fi stories, and modern literature. He also likes to watch theater shows and local films at the cinema.
