Vladimír Železný (born 3 March 1945) is a Czech businessman and politician. He was the first

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of TV NOVA, a popular Czech television station and was a

member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

between 2004 and 2009. As a media mogul with political influence, he has been compared to

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

and

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

.
Der Fernseh-Politiker (The TV-Politician)
(German),

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (; "Central German Broadcasting"), shortened to MDR (; stylized as mdr), is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Established in January 1991, its headquarters are in Leipzig, wi ...

, 2002-12-18, accessed on 2009-01-22. Archived He was convicted of

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

in 2007.

Early life and media career

Born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family, Železný made headlines in 1968, at the age of 23, when he broadcast in defiance of orders pictures of Russian tanks driving through Prague during the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...

. In 1993 he applied with five others for a license to broadcast a private television channel to show classical music, cultural programmes and current affairs. He obtained a €140m investment from the American firm,

Central European Media Enterprises Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) is a media and entertainment company that operates television channels in seven geographic areas: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania and Moldova, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Until its acquisitio ...

(CME) to fund the enterprise. Due to the Czech Media Council's rules against foreign ownership, the license was granted to a company controlled by Železný - CET21 - which, with the legal assistance of

Miroslav Šipovič Miroslav may refer to: * Miroslav (given name), a Slavic masculine given name * ''Young America'' (clipper) or ''Miroslav'', an Austrian clipper ship in the Transatlantic case oil trade * Miroslav (Znojmo District), a town in the Czech Republic S ...

signed a licensing agreement with a joint venture partly owned by CME. In February 1994 he launched TV NOVA which became the most popular network, although it was criticised as undermining the cultural tradition of Czechs.Czech Libertas recruit has conviction for evading duty
''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', 2009-01-22 In 1999 CET21 terminated the licensing agreement, effectively seizing control of the station and making CME's investment worthless. Subsequently, some 20 suits started in front of the Czech courts and international tribunals. While the CME (at the time incorporated in

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and controlled by American national

Ronald Lauder Ronald Steven Lauder (born February 26, 1944) is an American businessman and pro-Israel political activist. He and his brother, Leonard Lauder, are the sole heirs to the Estée Lauder Companies, Estée Lauder cosmetics company, founded by their ...

) started

UNCITRAL The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) ( French: ''Commission des Nations Unies pour le droit commercial international (CNUDCI)'') is a subsidiary body of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) responsible for helping to f ...

arbitration proceedings against the Czech Republic (in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

) under the Bilateral investment treaty between 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 ...

and

, Ronald Lauder himself started UNCITRAL arbitration proceedings against the Czech Republic (in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) under the Bilateral investment treaty between the

and the United States. While the London tribunal dismissed the claim by Lauder, the Stockholm tribunal, effectively dealing with the same issue, found the Czech Republic liable for not protecting the CME's investment in the Czech Republic and awarded CME damages of $270 million, which were eventually paid from taxpayers' money. Under a different arbitration award, Železný was to pay damages of $23 million. CME also eventually regained control of the channel. From November 2013 to March 2014 he was the CEO of

TV Barrandov TV Barrandov is a Czech television channel, launched in 2009. It was founded and started to broadcast in 2009. It currently broadcasts in Czech. In 2015 after Chinese company CEFC China Energy invested in TV Barrandov's parent company Empresa M ...

Political career

In 2002, Železný was elected to the

Czech Senate 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 ...

for the

Znojmo Znojmo (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian Region. The hi ...

circuit. Analysts said he selected the seat based on the high ratings of TV Nova and high rates of unemployment and said he was "''widely suspected''" of seeking election only to secure

parliamentary immunity Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which politicians or other political leaders are granted full immunity from legal prosecution, both civil prosecution and criminal prosecution, in the course of the exe ...

.Constitution Watch - A country-by-country update on constitutional politics in Eastern Europe and the ex-USSR
, ''East European Constitutional Review'' (a joint publication of the

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

and the

Central European University Central European University (CEU; , ) is a private research university in Vienna. The university offers graduate and undergraduate programs in the social sciences and humanities, which are accredited in Austria and the United States. The univ ...

), 2002-12-01, accessed on 2009-01-22Zynischer Populist ohne politische Überzeugung (Cynical populist with no political ideology)
(German),

die tageszeitung ''Die Tageszeitung'' (, "The Daily Newspaper"), stylized as ''die tageszeitung'' and commonly referred to as ''taz'', is a German daily newspaper. It is run as a cooperative – it is administered by its employees and a co-operative of sharehol ...

, 2004-06-14, accessed on 2009-01-22 In 2004 he was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. He founded the

Independent Democrats The Independent Democrats (ID) was a South African political party, formed by former Pan Africanist Congress member Patricia de Lille in 2003 via floor crossing legislation. The party's platform was premised on opposition to corruption, with ...

(''Nezávislí demokraté'') in 2005 and was elected its chairman. In 2006 he unsuccessfully sought

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

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 2008 he told Prague Radio he was a "''fierce

eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

''" and said the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

was "''an over-regulated environment which strongly resembles what we know from our communist past''" In 2009 he launched Libertas.cz.

Criminal activities

Following his 1999 split with investors, Železný was suspected of selling property and making a speculative agreement with a

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

company to avoid paying his debt to CME.CME/Lauder vs. Czech Republic - Case Comment & Introductory Note
''Thomas Wälde'', 2003-06-01, accessed on 2009-01-22 In 2011 the acquitted him of the charges. In 2001 Železný was publicly arrested and charged with tax evasion and defrauding creditors in connection with the Nova company. In 2003 the Senate voted to lift his immunity to allow the police to investigate and in 2005 the European Parliament followed suit.Zelezny case highlights imperfections in parliamentary immunity law

Český rozhlas Czech Radio (, ČRo) is the Public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster of the Czech Republic operating continuously since 1923. It is the oldest national radio broadcaster in continental Europe and the second-oldest in Europe after the BBC. ...

, 2003-01-29, accessed on 2009-01-22The European Parliament has decided to strip Czech MEP Vladimir Zelezny of immunity
,

, 2005-10-13, accessed on 2009-01-22 Later he was acquitted of the charges. In 2007 he was found guilty of tax evasion in connection to paintings he had imported in 1998, fined €250,000 and given a two-year suspended jail sentence with a two-year probation. The verdict was later upheld by the High Court in Prague.

References

External links

Personal website

Curriculum
by Vladimír Vaďura * European political group at the European Parliament http://indemgroup.org/

Media, articles, case studies

Zelezny says he was offered higher preferences for bribe
praguemonitor.com/

ČTK The Czech News Agency (), abbreviated to ČTK, is a national public service news agency in the Czech Republic. It provides its services in Czech language, Czech and English language, English. History ČTK was founded on 28 October 1918, on t ...

, 27 Mar 2006
EP-Abgeordneter Vladimír Železný in Prag vor Gericht
tschechien-online.org, 31 Jan 2006

arte-tv.com, 6 Oct 2005
Czech Mate: CME and Vladimir Zelezny
Harvard Business Online, 10 Feb 2004
Mejstřík opět navrhl slyšení o TV Nova, senátoři jej znovu zamítli
(Senator Martin Mejstřík tries again to initiate Senate hearing on TV Nova), cestazmeny.cz ( Cesta změny), 23 May 2003
Mejstřík inicioval veřejné slyšení ve věci arbitráže Novy
(Senator Martin Mejstřík trying to hold public hearing to seek recovery of funds), cestazmeny.cz, 18 Apr 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zelezny, Vladimir Politicians from Samara, Russia 1945 births Czech Jews Czech people convicted of tax crimes Living people Independent Democrats (Czech Republic) MEPs MEPs for the Czech Republic 2004–2009 Members of the Senate of the Czech Republic Czech eurosceptics Charles University alumni TV Nova (Czech Republic) people TV Barrandov people