Jiří Kobza (born 27 December 1955) is a Czech politician, civil servant, businessman and former diplomatic attaché.

Biography

Kobza studied geography at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

followed by postgraduate studies at the

Prague University of Economics and Business The Prague University of Economics and Business (PUEB) (originally: ''the University of Economics, Prague''; '', VŠE'') is an economics and business-oriented public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest university in ...

. He worked as a clerk at the foreign trade company for seven years, before joining the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Com ...

in spring 1987, aged 31. He was also a member of the

Czechoslovak Socialist Youth Union The Czechoslovak Socialist Youth Union (SSM) was a mass organization which served as the youth wing of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Communist Party in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1970 to 1990. It existed alongside the Pion ...

(SSM),

Revoluční odborové hnutí (Czech; ; ) (ROH) was a communist national trade union centre in Czechoslovakia from 1946 to 1990. In Communist Czechoslovakia (1948–1989) it was a monopolistic trade union, wherein the membership was often mandatory for employees of state indus ...

(ROH) and ČSTV. From 2000 to 2004 Kobza worked at the Czech Embassy in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, initially as a trade consul, and later as the

Chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

. He lived and worked in various countries in the Middle East specializing in the export of geological works, before providing development assistance to the

Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (MFACR; ; MZVČR) is a Czech government ministry responsible for international relations of the Czech Republic. The Ministry is headquartered in Černín Palace, Loretánské náměstí 5, 1 ...

, covering disasters such as the

2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...

. In 2015, he joined the far-right

Freedom and Direct Democracy Freedom and Direct Democracy (, SPD) is a political party in the Czech Republic. It is led by Tomio Okamura and it holds 20 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The party has been described as right-wing or far-right on the political spectrum. It ...

(SPD), and in 2017 was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

for the

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 ...

constituency. Kobza received media attention when he published a blog and a pamphlet instructing the public on how to defend themselves against the "

Islamization The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...

" of the Czech Republic. In autumn 2024, Kobza endorsed

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in the

2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

, criticising

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

for her "marxist background" and "left wing ideology and progressivism". Kobza stated that he was a conservative, even though he had been a member of the communist party in the 1980s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobza, Jiri Living people 1955 births 20th-century Czech businesspeople 21st-century Czech businesspeople Freedom and Direct Democracy MPs Politicians from Prague Czech critics of Islam Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2017–2021) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2021–2025) Charles University alumni Prague University of Economics and Business alumni Communist Party of Czechoslovakia members