Lukáš Wagenknecht (born 24 September 1978) is a Czech economist,

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

or and politician serving as a Senator of the Czech Republic representing

Prague 8 Prague 8 is a municipal district (''městská část'') in Prague, Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, ...

district since October 2018. He is a member of the

Czech Pirate Party The Czech Pirate Party or Pirates ( cs, Česká pirátská strana , abbreviated ''Piráti'' ) is a Liberalism, liberal Progressivism, progressive List of political parties in the Czech Republic, political party in the Czech Republic, founded in 20 ...

. Wagenknecht also co-founded the

ing organization and

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

Good Governance and was a contributor to '' Neovlivní.cz'', a publisher of

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

Political beginnings

Lukáš Wagenknecht was born on 24 September 1978 in

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...

, northern-central

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. He studied at the Faculty of Economics and Administration of the

University of Pardubice University of Pardubice ( or UPA) is a university in Pardubice, the Czech Republic. In 2021 it had nearly 8,000 students. It is the only university in Pardubice Region. History In the aftermath of the World War II, chemical factories in the city a ...

from 1998 to 2003 and subsequently started his professional career as an internal

or at the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, in 2003. From February 2014 to June 2015, Wagenknecht served as the first Deputy Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic in the field of financial management and audit. In 2015, he received the Prize for Courage for

whistleblowing A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

from the Anticorruption Endowment foundation. Wagenknecht co-founded the auditing organization and

Good Governance and since January 2018, he is a contributor to Neovlivní.cz, a publisher of

Senator

Wagenknecht was elected a Member of the

Senate of the Czech Republic The Senate (), literally "Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic", is the upper house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague. Structure The Senate has 81 members, chosen in s ...

for the

in the 2018 election. In October 2019, Wagenknecht "launched legal action at the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...

after the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...

failed to respond to his concerns about the alleged conflict of interest" of the acting

Prime Minister of the Czech Republic The prime minister of the Czech Republic (Czech: ''Předseda vlády České republiky'') is the head of the government of the Czech Republic. The prime minister is the de-facto leader of the executive branch, chairs the Cabinet and selects its m ...

Andrej Babiš Andrej Babiš (; born 2 September 1954) is a Czech politician and businessman of Slovak descent who served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. Babis previously served as the Minister of Finance and deputy Prime Minister ...

. Wagenknecht also investigated the alleged

subsidy A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

of Prime Minister Babiš.Wagenknecht: Větší dotační podvod než čerpání dotací holdingem pana premiéra jsem v životě neviděl
(in Czech). ČT24. 04.12.19.

References

External links

*
Lukáš Wagenknecht
official website
Lukáš Wagenknecht
on

website
Lukáš Wagenknecht
on ''Neovlivní.cz'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagenknecht, Lukas 1978 births 21st-century Czech politicians 21st-century Czech economists Czech Pirate Party Senators Czech whistleblowers Government audit officials Living people Writers from Pardubice Politicians from Pardubice