Kateřina Konečná

Kateřina Konečná (born 20 January 1981) is a Czech politician who has been the leader of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) since 23 October 2021, and a Member of the European Parliament representing the Czech Republic since 2014.

Early life and education

Konečná comes from a communist family, and was introduced to politics when she was young by her communist parents. Her father, Karel Konečný, worked as secretary for agriculture in Nový Jičín before 1989.

Konečná graduated from Masaryk University's Department of Economics and Administration in 2003. In 2009 she received a degree in engineering from the University of Finance and Administration. In 2013, Konečná obtained a law degree from Masaryk University.

Political career

In 2000, Konečná was a member of the five-member committee founding the Young Democrats party. In the 2002 Czech parliamentary election, she was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a non-party candidate for the Moravian-Silesian Region electoral district, becoming the youngest member of parliament. In 2005, she joined KSČM and was re-elected in the 2006 elections. Konečná held the post of vice-chairman of the foreign affairs committee and was also vice-chairman of the environment committee. Within KSČM, she managed the department of the environment and cross-cutting department of youth.

Konečná stood unsuccessfully for KSČM in the 2006 Czech municipal elections, for the Starý Jičín municipal council, but was elected to Nový Jičín city council in the 2010 elections. She defended her seat in 2014, 2018, and 2022.

Before the 10th KSČM congress in Nymburk on 21 April 2018, Konečná unsuccessfully challenged Vojtěch Filip as leader of the party. Konečná held the post of vice-president until April 2021, when she resigned and was replaced by Milan Krajča. On 23 October 2021, Konečná was elected the first chairwoman of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, replacing the long-time chairman Vojtěch Filip.

Member of the European Parliament

In 2004, shortly after the Czech Republic joined the EU and before the subsequent European Parliament elections, Konečná became a "temporary MEP" before the elected Czech MEPs took up their mandate. From 2004 to 2014, she was also included in the Czech delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). In the 2014 European Parliament elections, Konečná headed the KSČM list and was elected with 28,154 preferential votes. She was re-elected to the parliament in May 2019, and again in June 2024 as lead candidate for the Stačilo! alliance.

Konečná is a member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. She is also a substitute member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, as well as the Delegation to the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee.

Azerbaijani relations

Since 2014, Konečná has been a member of the Delegation to the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee, EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee.

Konečná is mentioned in the Transparency International report revealing the details of the Azerbaijan Laundromat money-laundering scandal. The report noted that she took a pro-Azerbaijan approach in the European Parliament when MEPs criticised Azerbaijan's human rights record in a joint motion for a resolution, titled "Persecution of Human Rights defenders in Azerbaijan".

In 2013, when Konečná was a member of the Czech Republic-Azerbaijan friendship group, she was among the supporters of the resolution "on the 21st anniversary of the Azerbaijan massacre". The resolution was widely criticised on the grounds that it was "biased and did not contribute to the fair relations of the Czech Republic with the region of the South Caucasus". As a member of PACE, Konečná voted against the motion of resolution on political prisoners in Azerbaijan, which was not adopted.

Iran relations

Since 2022, Konečná is reported to have met with representatives of the Iranian government, for undisclosed reasons.

Personal life

Konečná married businessman Zdenek Trefil on 17 August 2008. She gave birth to a son named Šimon on 22 October 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konecna, Katerina
Living people
1981 births
MEPs for the Czech Republic 2009–2014
MEPs for the Czech Republic 2014–2019
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia MEPs
People from Nový Jičín
Masaryk University alumni
Women MEPs for the Czech Republic
MEPs for the Czech Republic 2019–2024
Leaders of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
University of Finance and Administration alumni
MEPs for the Czech Republic 2024–2029