Ivan Bartoš (born 20 March 1980) is a Czech

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

activist and a

Czech Pirate Party The Czech Pirate Party or Pirates ( cs, Česká pirátská strana , abbreviated ''Piráti'' ) is a liberal progressive political party in the Czech Republic, founded in 2009. The party was founded as a student-driven grassroots movement campaig ...

politician, serving as the Minister of Regional Development and Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization in the governing

Cabinet of Petr Fiala The Cabinet of Petr Fiala is the current government of the Czech Republic, appointed on 17 December 2021. Following elections in October 2021, President Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the ...

since December 2021. He has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic since October 2017, and the chairman of the party since 2016, as well as previously between 2009 and 2014.

Early life

Ivan Bartoš was born on 20 March 1980 in

Jablonec nad Nisou Jablonec nad Nisou (; german: Gablonz an der Neiße) is a city in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 45,000 inhabitants. It is the second-largest city in the region. It is a local centre for education, and is known for its glass ...

, an industrial town in northern Bohemia. He studied information studies and librarianship at the

Faculty of Arts A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

, Charles University in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

and participated in a student exchange program at the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

. Subsequently, Bartoš worked in the IT industry and was elected chairman of the Pirate Party in October 2009.

Political career

Leader of the Pirate Party

Bartoš led the party into its first national elections in 2010, with the Pirates receiving 0.8% of the vote and therefore no representation in the Chamber of Deputies. Bartoš was the party's leading candidate again in legislative elections in 2013. The party won 2.66% of the vote, not reaching the 5% electoral threshold. Bartoš was the Pirates' leading candidate for the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union, from 22 to 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candid ...

, but the party narrowly missed the 5% electoral threshold, receiving 4.78% of the vote. In June 2014, Bartoš resigned as party leader.

In parliament

Bartoš was elected party chairman again in 2016 and led the Pirates into the 2017 legislative elections, taking 10.8% of the national vote to become the third largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, with 22 out of 200 seats. He served as the chairman of the Committee on Public Administration and Regional Development from November 2017 until November 2021. Bartoš was re-elected as party leader in 2018 and led the party's campaign for the 2018 local elections, where the leading Pirate candidate in Prague,

Zdeněk Hřib Zdeněk Hřib (born 21 May 1981) is a Czech healthcare manager and Czech Pirate Party politician who has served as the Mayor of Prague since November 2018.

, was elected

Mayor of Prague The office of Mayor of Prague was established in 1784. In that year, under Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roma ...

. In 2019, Bartoš campaigned for the

European Parliament election Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Unti ...

in support of the Pirate Party list and lead candidate

Marcel Kolaja Marcel Kolaja (born 29 June 1980 in Moravská Třebová) is a Czech software engineer, Internet freedom and digital rights activist and a Czech Pirate Party politician who serves as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since the 2019 elect ...

. The party gained 13.95% of the vote and entered the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

with three MEPs.

In government

In January 2020, Bartoš was re-elected as party leader. In December 2020, he became the lead candidate of the

electoral coalition An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. Ea ...

of the Pirate Party and

Mayors and Independents The Mayors and Independents ( cs, Starostové a nezávislí), abbreviated to STAN, is a liberal political party in the Czech Republic that is focused on localism and subsidiarity. The party grew out of four minor parties, including Independe ...

(STAN) for the

2021 Czech legislative election Legislative elections were held in the Czech Republic on 8 and 9 October 2021. All 200 members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected, with the leader of the resulting government to become the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. Following th ...

and was re-elected. Subsequently, Bartoš was nominated to serve as the Minister of Regional Development and Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization in the governing

Personal life and views

He is a member of the

Czechoslovak Hussite Church The Czechoslovak Hussite Church ( cs, Církev československá husitská, ''CČSH'' or ''CČH'') is a Christian church that separated from the Catholic Church after World War I in former Czechoslovakia. Both the Czechoslovak Hussite Church and ...

, and has been married since 2015. He has supported anti-fascist events and is a pacifist. Bartoš participates in " do it yourself" culture, plays accordion, and played

church organ Carol Williams performing at the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. ...

during his youth.

References

External links

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Ivan Bartoš
on Czech Pirate Party website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartos, Ivan 1980 births 21st-century Czech politicians Czech Pirate Party MPs Living people Hussite people People from Jablonec nad Nisou Charles University alumni Leaders of the Czech Pirate Party Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2017–2021) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2021–2025) Regional Development ministers of the Czech Republic Czech Pirate Party Government Ministers