Pavel Svoboda (born 9 April 1962) is a Czech politician and lawyer and from 2014 to 2019 a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) from the

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 ...

for

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...

representing

KDU-ČSL KDU-ČSL (In Czech, the initials of the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party; cs, Křesťanská a demokratická unie – Československá strana lidová), often shortened to ('the populars') is a Christian-democrati ...

Early life and education

Svoboda was born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and studied Law Faculty at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

. He also holds a

D.E.A. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enf ...

degree from Université Sciences Sociales in Toulouse.

Career

From 2007 to 2009, Svoboda was an

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

of the Czech Republic to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

. From 23 January 2009 to 8 May 2009, Svoboda was minister without portfolio and chairman of the Government's Legislative Council. In 2009, he was on the Czech government’s shortlist for the role of

European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...

. In May 2014 Svoboda was elected

for

, part of European Peoples Party. Subsequently he was elected Chairman of the

European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs The Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Responsibilities The main responsibilities of the committee are the interpretation and application of international and European law and the compliance of European U ...

(JURI). He is also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Integrity (Transparency, Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime)Members of the European Parliament on Integrity (Transparency, Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime)

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 ...

References

External links

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Official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svoboda, Pavel 1962 births Living people Czech diplomats Government ministers of the Czech Republic MEPs for the Czech Republic 2014–2019 KDU-ČSL MEPs Charles University alumni University of Toulouse alumni KDU-ČSL Government ministers Politicians from Prague 20th-century Czech lawyers