Zdeněk Nekula (born 9 February 1970) is a Czech politician and manager, who served as the Czech Minister of Agriculture in Petr Fiala's Cabinet from January 2022 until June 2023.

Early life

Between 2015 and 2019, Nekula represented the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic as a member of the supervisory board in the joint-stock company Exportní garanční a pojišťováci společnost (EGAP). From November 2015 until 2018, he was the chairman of the board of the joint-stock company PGRLF (Poťódníkný a garancí rolnický a lesnický fond), which distributes funds within the framework of support programs in the field of agriculture. An avid beekeeper, Nekula has been a member of the Czech Beekeepers' Association since 2005.

Political career

Early political career

In the

2006 Czech municipal elections Municipal elections were held in the Czech Republic on 20 October and 21 October 2006. The Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic), Civic Democratic Party received 35% of the vote, winning more seats than any other party. Results References

...

, Nekula was elected as a non-party member of KDU-ČSL as a representative of Těšetice, later becoming mayor of the municipality. In the 2008 Czech regional elections, Nekula did not for the South Moravian Regional Representative for the KDU-CŠL and was only elected in the 2012 elections. He also ran for the office in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, but failed to defend the position again. In the 2010 Czech parliamentary election, Nekula defended the post of municipal representative as the leader of the KDU-ČSL candidate, becoming mayor for the second time in November. Nekula became a representative of the municipality in the

2014 Czech Senate election Senate elections were held in the Czech Republic on 10–11 October 2014, with a second round on 17–18 October 2014. One-third of Senate seats (27 out of 81) were elected, along with approximately 62,300 local council seats. The election date w ...

, but did not ran his position as mayor. In the

2018 Czech Senate election Senate elections were held in the Czech Republic on 5 and 6 October 2018 alongside 2018 Czech municipal elections, municipal elections, with a second round held on 12 and 13 October 2018. The Conservatism, Conservative Civic Democratic Party (Czec ...

, Nekula was elected as a representative from the position as leader of KDU-ČSL. At the beginning of November, he was elected mayor of the municipality for the third time.

2021: Cabinet of Petr Fiala

Near the end of 2021, Nekula resigned as deputy mayor due to his appointment as Minister of Agriculture, but would continue to work the former position. Nekula was supposed to be appointed to the position on 17 December 2021, but could not be sworn in after being tested positive for the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and was temporarily replaced by

Marian Jurečka Marian Jurečka (born 15 March 1981) is a Czech politician, who has served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Affairs since 17 December 2021 and Minister of the Environment from November 2022 to March 2023, both in Petr ...

. Nekula was appointed on 3 January 2022. On 14 June 2023, Nekula announced his resignation as Minister of Agriculture at the end of June and was succeeded by the former KDU-ČSL chairman

Marek Výborný Marek Výborný (born 10 July 1976) is a Czech politician, who has been serving as the Czech Minister of Agriculture in Petr Fiala's Cabinet since June 2023 and the leader of KDU-ČSL since October 2024. He was also the leader of KDU-ČSL betwe ...

. According to ''

Seznam Zprávy Seznam.cz (or Seznam, ''list'' in Czech) is a web portal and search engine in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1996 by Ivo Lukačovič in Prague as the first web portal in the Czech Republic. Seznam started with a search engine and an internet v ...

'', he was supposed to call the delegates "schizophrenics who do not know what they want" and leave the hall angrily. On 26 June 2023, President

Petr Pavel Petr Pavel (; born 1 November 1961) is a Czech politician and retired army general, currently serving as the president of the Czech Republic since March 2023. Prior to this, he held the position of Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2 ...

accepted Nekula's resignation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nekula, Zdenek 1970 births Living people People from Znojmo Agriculture ministers of the Czech Republic Mendel University in Brno alumni KDU-ČSL Government ministers Mayors of places in the Czech Republic KDU-ČSL mayors