Lukáš Wagenknecht (born 24 September 1978) is a Czech economist,

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

or and politician who served as a Senator of the Czech Republic representing

Prague 8 Prague 8 is a municipal district (''městská část'') in Prague, Czech Republic. The administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name consists of municipal districts Prague 8, Březiněves, Ďáblice and Dolní Chabry. Demographic ...

district from October 2018 to October 2024. He was a member of the

Czech Pirate Party The Czech Pirate Party ( ) often known simply as the Pirates (''Piráti'' ) is a Liberalism, liberal Progressivism, progressive List of political parties in the Czech Republic, political party in the Czech Republic, founded in 2009. The party was ...

from 2019 to 2025. Wagenknecht also co-founded the

ing organization and

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

Good Governance and was a contributor to '' Neovlivní.cz'', a publisher of

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...

Political beginnings

Lukáš Wagenknecht was born on 24 September 1978 in

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(now northern-central

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). He studied at the Faculty of Economics and Administration of the

University of Pardubice University of Pardubice ( or UPA) is a university in Pardubice, the Czech Republic. In 2021 it had nearly 8,000 students. It is the only university in Pardubice Region. History In the aftermath of the World War II, chemical factories in the cit ...

from 1998 to 2003 and subsequently started his professional career as an internal

or at the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

, in 2003. From February 2014 to June 2015, Wagenknecht served as the first Deputy Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic in the field of financial management and audit. In 2015, he received the Prize for Courage for

whistleblowing Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

from the Anticorruption Endowment foundation. Wagenknecht co-founded the auditing organization and

Good Governance and since January 2018, he is a contributor to Neovlivní.cz, a publisher of

Senator

Wagenknecht was elected a Member of the

Senate of the Czech Republic The Senate () is the upper house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague. Structure The Senate has 81 members, chosen in single-seat constituencies through the two-round system. If no c ...

for the

in the 2018 election. In October 2019, Wagenknecht "launched legal action at the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...

after the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

failed to respond to his concerns about the alleged conflict of interest" of the acting

Prime Minister of the Czech Republic The prime minister of the Czech Republic ( Czech: ''Předseda vlády České republiky'') is the head of the government of the Czech Republic and the '' de facto'' leader and most powerful member of the executive branch. The Constitution provid ...

Andrej Babiš Andrej Babiš (; born 2 September 1954) is a Czech businessman and politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, prime minister of the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as the Finance Minister of the Cze ...

. Wagenknecht also investigated the alleged

subsidy A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acc ...

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

of Prime Minister Babiš.

References

External links

*
Lukáš Wagenknecht
official website
Lukáš Wagenknecht
on

website
Lukáš Wagenknecht
on ''Neovlivní.cz'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagenknecht, Lukas 1978 births 21st-century Czech politicians 21st-century Czech economists Czech Pirate Party senators Czech whistleblowers Government audit officials Living people Writers from Pardubice Politicians from Pardubice