Vojtěch Petráček (born 17 February 1964 in
Prague
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 ...
) is a Czech nuclear physicist and University Lecturer. Since February 2018, He has also been the rector of the
Czech Technical University in Prague
Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) () is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It is also the oldest non-military technical universi ...
(CVUT) in Prague (removed from office by an extraordinary Academic senate motion in 2025 for his "inability to manage").
Education
After attending the
Nad Štolou Grammar School in the
Letnány, Petráček studied mathematics and physics from 1982 at the
Charles University
Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...
, obtaining a doctorate in 1987.
Career
In 2014 he unsuccessfully ran in the Rectorate election of the ČVUT, but in 2017 he was elected and at the end of January. The press widely discussed his behavior deemed unethical, when he voted in his own election and won by a single vote. 2018 he was appointed to this position by the Czech President
Miloš Zeman
Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician who served as the third president of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2023. He also previously served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...
with effect from 1. February 2018.
In May 2025, members of the CTU Academic Senate filed a motion to dismiss the rector due to his inability to manage the university resulting in long-standing deficiencies in the school's management, including problems in budget management and approval, unexplained expenditures for legal and consulting services, preparation of internal regulations, capital construction, quality management, and labor relations. The motion followed a series of court rulings on rector Petráček's illegal behavior resulting in financial and reputational losses to the University.
On 21 May 2025, the Academic Senate of the CTU proposed to the President of the Republic, by 39 votes (out of 44 senators present), to remove Petráček from his position as rector.
On 30 May 2025, Czech President Petr Pavel decided to dismiss Vojtěch Petráček from the rector's office. The removal from office was also countersigned (agreed) by the Prime Minister on 4 June 2025.
Publications
* Vojtěch Petráček, as of 2018, has co-authored 117 articles (most of them as one among hundreds of co-authors).
References
External links
Webpage of CVUT Prague
Living people
Scientists from Prague
Academic staff of Czech Technical University in Prague
1964 births
Charles University alumni
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