Václav Klaus

Who is Václav Klaus?

Václav Klaus is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second President of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. He also served as the second and last Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, federal subject of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, from July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, and as the first Prime Minister of an independent Czech Republic from 1993 to 1998.

Klaus was the principal co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. His presidency was marked by numerous controversies over his strong views on a number of issues, from global climate change to euroscepticism, and a wide-ranging amnesty declared in his last months of office.

After his presidency ended in 2013, Klaus was named a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute.