Marie Benešová (17 April 1948 – 11 November 2024) was a Czech politician and lawyer who served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

under Prime Minister

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 ...

from 2019 to 2021, having previously held the position between 2013 and 2014, as a part of Jiří Rusnok's Cabinet.

Early life

Benešová was born on 17 April 1948. Both her parents worked in construction. In June 1966, she graduated from a secondary general education school, and afterwards, she attended the Faculty of Law, Charles University, where she graduated in 1971. After graduating, she worked at the district prosecutor's office in

Kladno Kladno (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 70,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and has a rich industrial history. Administrative division Kladno consists of six municipal parts ...

as a legal trainee before passing her judicial exams two years later and becoming a prosecutor for the same office. She worked there until 1991, working on general crime and later as a specialist in traffic crime. She then worked as a lawyer for the Supreme State Prosecutor.

Career

From 1999 to 2005, Benešová was the Supreme State Prosecutor. Her dismissal as prosecutor is generally attributed to a quarrel between her and then Minister of Justice

Pavel Němec Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian: Павел; Czech, Slovene, and (although Romanian also uses Paul); ; ; ) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pavel may refer to: People Given ...

. This occurred because Hamid Bin Abdul Sani al-Thani, a member of the

House of Thani The House of Thani () is the ruling family of Qatar, with origins tracing back to the Adnanite Banu Tamim tribe. Today Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his mother Moza bint Nassir lead the house. History and structure The Al Thani family can be ...

, was arrested for

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

in the Czech Republic but Němec interfered so that al-Thani was sent to

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

instead for a trial. Benešová argued that this threatened the independence of the Czech judicial system and that he should've been tried in the Czech Republic. In 2006, she ran for a seat in 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

Chomutov Chomutov (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. There are almost 80,000 inhabitants in the city's wider metropolitan area. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as ...

representing the

Czech Social Democratic Party Social Democracy (, SOCDEM), known as the Czech Social Democratic Party (, ČSSD) until 10 June 2023, is a social democratic political party in the Czech Republic. Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum and holding pro-European ...

, which she lost. However, she was then part of the shadow cabinet as the Minister of Justice.

Personal life

Benešová died on 11 November 2024, at the age of 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benesova, Marie 1948 births 2024 deaths Politicians from Prague Charles University alumni Czech Social Democratic Party MPs Justice ministers of the Czech Republic Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2013–2017) ANO (political party) Government ministers 21st-century Czech lawyers Female justice ministers Women government ministers of the Czech Republic 21st-century Czech women politicians 20th-century Czech lawyers 20th-century Czech women lawyers