Martin Mejstřík (born 30 May 1962) is a Czech politician and

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

activist.

Biography

Mejstřík is notable for his role as a student leader during the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

that led to the ousting of the

Communist regime in Czechoslovakia Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, distrib ...

in November 1989. He served as a Senator in the

Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic The Senate () 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 single-seat constituencies through the two-round system. If no c ...

from 2002 to 2008, representing

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

1 as an independent, and was a member of the Senate Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights and Petitions. Mejstřík is a founding signatory of the

Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism The Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism was a declaration which was initiated by the Czech government and signed on 3 June 2008 by prominent European politicians, former political prisoners and historians, among them former ...

(and the co-organizer, with

Jana Hybášková Jana Hybášková (born 26 June 1965 in Prague) is a Czechs, Czech politician and diplomat, who currently serves as the Ambassadors of the European Union, Ambassador of the European Union in Namibia. She served as a Member of the European Parliam ...

, of its preceding conference) and the Declaration on Crimes of Communism. He was also one of the politicians proposing the creation of the

Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes ( or ÚSTR) is a Czech government agency and research institute. It was founded by the Czech government in 2007 and is situated at Siwiecova street, Prague- Žižkov (the street is named after ...

. In 2007, he proposed a ban on "communist and all totalitarian propaganda and symbols".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mejstrik, Martin 1962 births Living people Politicians from Kolín Czech democracy activists Czech human rights activists Members of the Senate of the Czech Republic Czech anti-communists Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni