Tomáš Prouza (born 30 April 1973) 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 ...

economist, former Deputy

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

(2004–2007) and from January 2014 to March 2017 State Secretary for European Affairs at the Czech Prime Minister's Office. In May 2016 the Government appointed Tomáš Prouza as the coordinator for the digital agenda. His main task was to synchronize and manage all governmental activities and communication for support of the digital economy and digitalization of public administration among the ministries and other central governmental institutions. He resigned his government positions on 31 March 2017 and went to establish his own consulting company EU Politics Advisory. On 1 October 2018 he has become President of the Confederation of Trade and Tourism of the Czech Republic.

Career

Between 2012 and 2014, he worked at the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, as an expert on consumer protection in financial services. After leaving the Ministry of Finance in 2007, he co-founded Partners Financial Services, a financial distribution company, where he acted as the member of the board responsible for compliance and customer care. He also served between 2009 and 2012 as the chairman of the board of

Prague Philharmonia 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 ...

, founded in 1994 by Czech conductor

Jiří Bělohlávek Jiří Bělohlávek, (; 24 February 1946 – 31 May 2017) was a Czech conductor. He was a leading interpreter of Czech classical music, and became chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1990, a role he would serve on two occasio ...

. When serving as the deputy finance minister between 2004 and 2007, he was responsible for financial services, EU and international relations, fiscal policy and euro adoption. Between November 2005 and December 2006 he was the first National Coordinator for Euro Introduction in the Czech Republic. He also represented the Czech Republic in the

Ecofin The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) is one of the oldest configurations of the Council of the European Union and is composed of the economics and finance ministers of the 27 European Union member states, as well as Budget Ministe ...

Council, Economic and Finance Committee and Financial Services Committee of 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 ...

and served as the Deputy Governor of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

for the

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 started his career as economic journalist, first in the Czech-English monthly The Prague Tribune where he was responsible for Czech editing and financial section of the magazine, and then between 2000 and 2004 as the founder and CEO of the personal finance website www.penize.cz. Prouza graduated from the

University of Economics in Prague 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 ...

(majoring in international politics and diplomacy) and received his MBA from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

Awards and honours

In 2016, Tomáš Prouza was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prouza, Tomas 1973 births Living people Politicians from Ostrava 20th-century Czech economists Prague University of Economics and Business alumni 21st-century Czech economists Alumni of the Open University