Pavel Bělobrádek (; born 25 December 1976) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

politician who served as the leader of

KDU-ČSL KDU-ČSL (In Czech language, Czech, the initials of the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party; ), often shortened to ("the populars"), is a Christian democracy, Christian democratic list of political parties in the Czec ...

from 2010 to 2019.

Political career

2010–2013

In the 2010 Czech parliamentary election, Bělobrádek was elected as a representative of

Náchod Náchod (; ) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It is known both as a tourist destination and centre of industry. The historic town centre with the castle complex is well preserved and i ...

, receiving 280 votes. On 8 June 2013, Bělobrádek was re-elected as chairman of KDU-ČSL at the convention in

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

, despite opposition from Zuzana Roithová. In the

2013 Czech parliamentary election Early parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 25 and 26 October 2013, seven months before the constitution of the Czech Republic, constitutional expiry of the elected Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic ...

, Bělobrádek ran as the leader of KDU-ČSL in the

Hradec Králové Region Hradec Králové Region (, ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic located in the north-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec Králové. The region neighbours the Pardubice Region in t ...

. He was subsequently elected chairman of the KDU-ČSL Parliamentary Club. On 27 November 2013, he was elected Deputy Speaker, receiving 133 votes in a secret ballot. In December of the same year, he resigned as chairman of the party's parliamentary club and was succeeded by

Marian Jurečka Marian Jurečka (born 15 March 1981) is a Czech politician, who has served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Affairs since 17 December 2021 and Minister of the Environment from November 2022 to March 2023, both in Petr ...

2014–2017

In January 2014, Bělobrádek was nominated by KDU-ČSL as their candidate for the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Science, Research, and Innovation in Bohuslav Sobotka's cabinet. He also defended his position during the

2014 Czech municipal elections Municipal elections were held in the Czech Republic on 10–11 October 2014. Approximately 62,300 local council seats were elected. The date of the elections was announced by the President Miloš Zeman in June 2014. Results References Exter ...

. At the 2015 congress in

Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 75,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice River. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the modern city ...

, Bělobrádek was elected chairman of KDU-ČSL for the third time. In the

2016 Czech regional elections Elections to regional councils in the Czech Republic in 13 regions (except Prague) were held on 7 and 8 October 2016. In one third of constituencies, the elections were combined with Czech Senate elections. Also, several municipal referendums ...

, he successfully defended his mandate as a representative of the Hradec Králové Region as a party member.

2018 Czech municipal elections

On 1 February 2018, Bělobrádek announced his intention to run for KDU-ČSL in the 2018 Czech municipal elections. He won the first round with 26.62% of the votes but faced in the second round, where he was ultimately defeated. In March 2019, Bělobrádek announced that he would step down as chairman of KDU-ČSL. He was succeeded by

Marek Výborný Marek Výborný (born 10 July 1976) is a Czech politician, who has been serving as the Czech Minister of Agriculture in Petr Fiala's Cabinet since June 2023 and the leader of KDU-ČSL since October 2024. He was also the leader of KDU-ČSL betwe ...

2020s

In the

2020 Czech regional elections Elections to regional councils in the Czech Republic in 13 regions (except Prague) were held on 2–3 October 2020. Background ANO 2011 won the previous election. Czech Social Democratic Party saw heavy losses and came second. 2017 Czech legisla ...

, Bělobrádek served as the leader of the Coalition for the Hradec Králové Region. He successfully defended his mandate as a regional representative. On 2 November 2020, he was appointed Second Deputy Governor of the Hradec Králové Region for Environment and Agriculture. In the

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

, Bělobrádek was a member of KDU-ČSL and the second-place candidate for the

Spolu Spolu (, stylized as SPOLU) is a Czech centre-right political alliance composed of the Civic Democratic Party, KDU-ČSL, and TOP 09. It forms the current Czech government, in coalition with the Mayors and Independents. Initially formed for the ...

coalition. He received 10,691 preferential votes and was re-elected as a Member of Parliament. In the

2022 Czech municipal elections Municipal elections were held in the Czech Republic on 23 and 24 September 2022. Campaign Mayors and Independents (STAN) STAN launched the spring phase of its campaign on 19 April 2022. Party leader Vít Rakušan called it a "key election" and t ...

, Bělobrádek ran for a council seat in Náchod, placed 20th on the KDU-ČSL candidate list. He finished in fourth place but failed to secure the mandate. On 19 October 2024, Bělobrádek was elected 1st Vice-Chairman of

at the convention in

Personal life

Bělobrádek is married to his wife, Jana. They have a son named Josef, as well as daughters, Anežka and Marie. Before the 2010 Czech parliamentary election, Bělobrádek revealed that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but his condition had been stable for ten years. One week after the unsuccessful parliamentary elections, Bělobrádek declared that the current situation of the People's Party was behind them.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belobradek, Pavel KDU-ČSL MPs Czech veterinarians Living people 1976 births People from Náchod People with multiple sclerosis Government ministers of the Czech Republic Leaders of KDU-ČSL KDU-ČSL Government ministers Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2017–2021) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2013–2017) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2021–2025) University of Veterinary Sciences Brno alumni