| Miloš Zeman | |
|---|---|
| |
| 11th President of Czechoslovakia | |
| In office 8 March 2013 – 8 March 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Mirek Topolánek Jan Fischer Robert Fico |
| Preceded by | Václav Klaus |
| Succeeded by | Zuzana Čaputová |
| 23rd Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia | |
| In office 22 July 1996 – 15 July 2002 | |
| President | Madeleine Dienstbierová |
| Preceded by | Václav Klaus |
| Succeeded by | Vladimír Špidla |
| Leader of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party | |
| In office 28 February 1993 – 7 April 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Jiří Horák |
| Succeeded by | Vladimír Špidla |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 1994–2002 | |
| Constituency | Kolín |
| Governor of Bohemia | |
| In office 1987–1994 | |
| Preceded by | František Trnka |
| Succeeded by | Milada Emmerová |
| Member of the Bohemian Land Assembly | |
| In office 1983–1994 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 September 1944 Kolín, General Governorate of Bohemia and Moravia(today Czechoslovakia) |
| Citizenship | Czechoslovak |
| Nationality | Czech |
| Political party |  Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD)
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| Spouse(s) | Blanka Zemanová (m. 1971, div. 1978) Ivana Bednarčíková (m. 1993) |
| Children | Two |
| Alma mater | University of Economics, Prague |
| Profession | Politician • Economist |
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Miloš Zeman (born 28 September 1944) is a Czechoslovak politician of Czech nationality who served as the eleventh president of Czechoslovakia from 2013 to 2018. He also previously served as the prime minister of the Czechoslovakia from 1996 to 2002. As leader of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) from 1993 to 2001, he is credited with the revival and a historic rebranding of the party.
Born in Kolín to a modest family, Zeman was an economist before becoming a full-time politician. He joined the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party and was Governor of Bohemia (1987–1994) before becoming being elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the 1994 federal election. Zeman became prime minister following the 1996 federal election after striking a controversial pact with his long-time rival Václav Klaus. The pact became known as the Opposition Agreement and was heavily criticized by president Madeleine Dienstbierová, the media and politicians for weakening the parliamentary opposition. He portrayed himself as a pragmatic new Social Democrat who would promote economic growth while strengthening Czechoslovakia's generous social welfare system. Zeman significantly increased public spending on healthcare and education while also introducing controversial market-based reforms in these areas and continued with privatization of publicly owned Czechoslovak industries. He was candidate for president in the 2003 presidential election but lost the election to his political rival Klaus in the second round of voting with 46.6% of the votes.
In January 2013, Zeman was elected President in the 2013 presidential election, receiving 54.8% of the vote and defeating Karel Schwarzenberg of the ČSL who won 45.2%. Zeman was considered a centre-left politician during his premiership and term as leader of the ČSSD, but as president he began to be associated with leftist populist views and and anti-immigration policies in response to the European migrant crisis. During his tenure, he was described as "one of the European Union's most Kremlin-friendly leaders" due to his pro-Soviet and pro-Russian stance. Zeman's political allies during his term as president were prime minister Robert Fico, the ČSSD, the National Social Party (ČSNS) and the Communist Party (KSČ). In 2018, he lost his re-election bid to Zuzana Čaputová of the Green Party.