Karolína Peake (born 10 October 1975), née Kvačková, 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 and lawyer who served as the
Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2013.
Career
She was a member of the
Civic Democratic Party between 1997 and 1998, during her studies at university. In 1999 she graduated from the Faculty of Law 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 ...
and married Charles Peake, an Australian manager of Czech-Chinese origin. After this, she worked as a trainee lawyer in the Czech branch of
Baker & McKenzie. She gave birth to her sons Sebastian, and Theodor, with whom she took five years
parental leave
Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...
. Thereafter, she began to be involved in local politics, including campaigns to save a local park and to extend local children's playgrounds. In 2006, she was elected to the
town council
A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities.
Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions.
Republic of Ireland
In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...
of
Prague 1
Prague 1, formally the Prague 1 Municipal District (), is a Prague city districts, second-tier municipality in Prague. It is co-extensive with the national administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name.
Prague 1 includes most of ...
for Public Affairs.
Peake 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 ...
in the
2010 election, representing
Public Affairs (VV), but left in April 2012 with seven other MPs. The party she founded after breaking away from VV was named
LIDEM
Conservative Right Party – Order of the Nation (, SKP - ŘN), previously known as LIDEM – Liberal Democrats, is a political party in the Czech Republic, formed in 2012 as a breakaway party from Public Affairs (VV). The party supported greate ...
, which means "for the people" in Czech, and is also based on the first letters of "Liberal Democrats". She was appointed
Minister of Defense
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...
in December 2012, but was dismissed by Prime Minister
Petr Nečas
Petr Nečas (; born 19 November 1964) is a Czech former politician who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic and leader of the Civic Democratic Party from 2010 to 2013, and as Member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP) from 1993 to 20 ...
eight days later, due to criticism of her rapid replacement of ministry deputies.
Peake is a member of the
Prague Society for International Cooperation. The Society existed as a network during dissident times. Several of its members were imprisoned by
Communist regimes. It became an NGO in 1997 under the presidency of
Vaclav Havel. The aim was - and is - to bring former members of the Secret Police to justice and to fight corruption. The Society also forges connections between future leaders and public figures internationally.
See also
*
Petr Nečas's Cabinet
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peake, Karolina
Defence ministers of the Czech Republic
Independent politicians in the Czech Republic
Public Affairs (political party) politicians
Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic) politicians
Charles University alumni
Politicians from Prague
1975 births
Living people
Czech city councillors
Female defence ministers
Women government ministers of the Czech Republic
Czech women lawyers
People associated with Baker McKenzie
Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2010–2013)
21st-century Czech women politicians
21st-century Czech lawyers
21st-century women lawyers