In his first hundred days in office, Pavel appointed three judges to theConstitutional Court and made11 international trips, including a visit to Kyiv and Dnipro, becoming the first foreign head of state to travel to Eastern Ukraine since the start of theRussian invasion.
Pavel was born on 1 November 1961 inPlaná, then part ofCzechoslovakia. His father was an intelligence officer who served at the Western Military District command inTábor from 1973 to 1989.[1] Pavel graduated from theJan Žižka Militarygymnasium inOpava. He continued his studies at the Military University of the Ground Forces inVyškov, graduating in 1983 and subsequently joining theCzechoslovak Army as aparatrooper, serving as aplatoon leader.
Pavel served in the 1st Czechoslovak Battalion of theUnited Nations Protection Force inBosnia. In January 1993, his unit was sent as part of theevacuation of Karin Base, a French military post under siege bySerbian troops. TheFrench Army was unable to evacuate the base because the local infrastructure and bridge had been destroyed, and the unit from the combined Czech and Slovak Battalion (last Czechoslovak military unit) was sent to conduct the evacuation as they were stationed only 30 kilometres from Karin Base. Pavel went to the base with 29 soldiers and twoOT-64 SKOTarmoured personnel carriers. During the two-hour journey, his unit faced various obstacles that slowed down the operation, including fallen trees which soldiers had to remove from the road while under mortar fire. When the unit reached Karin Base, two French soldiers were already dead and several others wounded. Eventually, 55 French soldiers were evacuated from the base in armed transporters.[9][10][11]
Pavel was recognized and decorated by both the Czech Republic andFrance for his conduct of the rescue.[12]
After the operation in Bosnia, Pavel served in various positions in the Czech Army, including military intelligence and diplomacy. He represented the Czech Republic in several military diplomatic positions inBelgium, theNetherlands, and theUnited States.
From 1993 to 1994, Pavel was the deputymilitary attaché of the Czech Republic in Belgium. From 1997 to 1999, he served as the commander of6th Special Brigade. From 1999 to 2002, he was the representative at theNATO headquarters inBrunssum. In 2003, he served as the National Military Representative at theUnited States Central Command atOperation Enduring Freedom headquarters inTampa. During theU.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, he served as a liaison officer at the U.S. headquarters inQatar. During this time, he warned that Iraq might use weapons of mass destruction against invading forces.[13]
Pavel was appointedbrigadier general in 2002. From 2002 to 2007, he served as the commander of the specialized forces, the deputy commander of the joint forces and the deputy director of the section of theMinistry of Defence. In the years 2007–2009, he was the military representative of the Czech Republic at theEuropean Union inBrussels, and subsequently in the years 2010–2011 was the representative of the Czech Republic at theSupreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe inMons.[14] Pavel becamemajor general in 2010 andlieutenant general in 2012. In 2011, he was a member of the expert commission that wrote the White Book on Defense, evaluating the state and proposing measures to improve the defense of the Czech Republic.[15][16]
Pavel served as DeputyChief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic from July 2011 to June 2012. On 1 June 2012, he was promoted to Chief of the General Staff. In this position, he organised cooperation between the army and academics and forums on defence and security issues.[17]
Following his departure from the army in 2018, Pavel became a lecturer and consultant,[23] and participated in the conferences of theAspen Institute.[24]
In 2019, Pavel co-founded the association 'Pro bezpečnou budoucnost' ("For a safe future"), together with diplomat Petr Kolář, entrepreneur František Vrabel, and manager Radek Hokovský.[25]
On 6 April 2020, Pavel launched the 'Spolu silnější' (Stronger Together) initiative, with the aim of helping people linked with the fight against theCOVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic, especially crowdfunding financial assistance for volunteers helping in hospitals and creating medical tools. The initiative also aimed to prepare the country for future crises.[26]
Pavel gathered various experts in the initiative including head of the State Office for Nuclear SafetyDana Drábová, businessman Martin Hausenblas, president of the Czech Society of Emergency Medicine and Disaster Medicine Jana Šeblová, and former governor of theOlomouc RegionJan Březina.[27] Pavel started travelling around Czech regions and gathering information about the fight against the epidemic from experts, authorities and institutions.[28] Based on the initiative's findings, Pavel met Prime MinisterAndrej Babiš to present him an anti-crisis plan created by the initiative.[29]
On 29 June 2022, Pavel announced his intention to run in the2023 Czech presidential election. He said he wanted to win the election so that the Czech Republic would not have to feel embarrassed by its president.[33] Pavel launched his official campaign on 6 September 2022, saying he wanted to "return order and peace to the Czech Republic",[34] running on apro-Western,[35]pro-European,[36] and anti-populist platform,[37] the views he advocated for throughout his senior military management career.[38] On 4 October 2022, he was one of three candidates endorsed by theSpolu electoral alliance (the Civic Democratic Party, KDU-ČSL, and TOP 09).[39]
The first round was held on 13 and 14 January 2023. Pavel received 1,975,056 votes (35.4%). He finished narrowly ahead of former Czech prime ministerAndrej Babiš, with whom he advanced to the second round.[40] Pavel defeated Babiš in the second round on 28 January, receiving 58.32% of the vote (3,358,926 votes) to Babiš's 41.67%.[41] On the same day, the president of SlovakiaZuzana Čaputová personally congratulated him on his victory inPrague.[42] Pavel succeeded outgoing presidentMiloš Zeman on 9 March.[43]
Pavel was planning to make his first foreign trips toSlovakia,Poland andUkraine to reassure the Czech Republic's international commitments and express support for Ukraine against the2022 Russian invasion.[42] Polish presidentAndrzej Duda and Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy were also the first foreign leaders he spoke to as president-elect.[44] He also had a telephone conversation with Taiwanese PresidentTsai Ing-wen in the first days after the election to reaffirm the closer diplomatic relations between the Czech Republic andTaiwan, triggering criticism fromChina.[45][46]
Petr Pavel and his wife during aCharles III reception at Buckingham Palace, May 2023
Before the inauguration, Pavel gave a number of interviews to both domestic and foreign media organizations. He spoke with several leaders, including Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy, Polish PresidentAndrzej Duda and Taiwanese PresidentTsai Ing-wen becoming the first elected European head of state to talk to the Taiwanese president on the phone in recent history.[47]
During his first 100 days in office, Pavel worked to openPrague Castle to the public, improve communication and decision-making of the presidential office, and sought to mediate and find common ground on key domestic political issues between the government and the opposition.[53] Since he took office, public trust in the president has risen by 20% to 58%, the highest in several years.[54] Pavel appointed three judges to theConstitutional Court, and addressed sessions of theChamber of Deputies and theSenate. Political analysts have praised his symbolism and open communication with the public.[55]
Pavel visited all neighboring countries (Slovakia,Poland,Germany andAustria) by June 2023. He proposed deepening co-operation between the Czech Republic and Germany, and made steps to improve relations between the Czech Republic and theSudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft.[56][53] His visit toBavaria for the Bavarian-Czech Friendship Weeks in May 2023 on a motorcycle attracted considerable attention.[57]
Pavel has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia, rallying for a continued united Western stance. In April 2023, he was the first foreign president to visiteastern Ukraine since the war began, offering Czech support in the reconstruction ofDnipropetrovsk Oblast.[58] In June 2023, in an interview forRadio Free Europe, Pavel spoke in favor of enhancedsurveillance of all Russian citizens living in the West.[59] When elaborating, he invoked thetreatment ofJapanese Americans during World War II. His words were met with criticism from the Russian opposition and media.[60][61][62] Pavel later clarified that he was talking about necessary security measures to prevent attacks like the2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouses explosions and the spread ofRussian propaganda, not surveillance on an individual level, and that he did not approve of the treatment of Japanese Americans.[63] Following the initial interview,Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the RussianState Duma, misrepresented Pavel's words and urgedRussians living in the West to return toRussia if feasible, saying they were at risk of being sent toconcentration camps.[64]
In 2023, Pavel delivered speeches at, among others, the 4thCouncil of Europe Summit, the 78th session of theUN General Assembly, the Climate Ambition Summit, theUN Security Council and theEuropean Parliament, calling for a fight against populism, for explaining to citizens the principles on which Europe stands, for resisting war fatigue and making no concessions to Russia. At the SDG Summit he presented a statement on behalf of the 46 member states of the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies.[65]
On 15 January 2024, Pavel visitedIsrael to express solidarity with the country during theGaza war. There wereprotests in Prague against his visit to Israel.[66] After meeting with Israeli politicians, Pavel said that he supports atwo-state solution.[67] He then visitedQatar, where he discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict withQatar's EmirTamim bin Hamad Al Thani.[68]
As Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in 2018, Pavel said of theTurkish invasion of Afrin: "Turkey is a target of terrorism and has the right to defend itself."[71][72] He said it was necessary not to view theKurds as a homogeneous group, and that some of them were effectively fightingextremists.[73]
Asked if he would have fought against the West in the event of a war beforeNovember 1989, Pavel said that "a soldier defends his country and the people who live in it.... every soldier fights for the people he likes and for whom it is worth sacrificing his life".[37]
In 1987, in his biography, Pavel expressed understanding for theinvasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops. He is said to have taken this view at the age of six from his father, Josef Pavel, who was at the time an officer in the Czechoslovak Army and a member of military intelligence.[74] Pavel later apologized for the stance expressed in his biography and condemned the invasion.[75]
Pavel supported Ukraine during the2022 Russian invasion, which he described as a "war against the system of international relations", calling for military and humanitarian aid.[76] He said that the West should have acted more forcefully in response to the invasion. He argued that following the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the control of parts of theDonbas by Russian-backed separatists, the West should have established protected corridors for civilians enforced by theOSCE. Once the invasion began, he initially expressed the view that the Russian army would be able to hold what they had occupied, and Ukraine would not have sufficient resources to push out the Russian military, includingCrimea, even with the help of Western countries.[37] In December 2022, he stated that Ukraine could win the war and pointed to the importance of aid to Ukraine for the security of the Czech Republic.[77] In 2023, Pavel reiterated his support for Ukraine joining the NATO alliance after the end of the war.[78]
In April 2023, he stated that it was inChina's interest to prolong theRusso-Ukrainian War because "it can push Russia to a number of concessions."[79]
Following accusations that the Czech Republic would be mobilized and directly involved in the war in Ukraine if he won the second round presidential election, Pavel stated:
"I know what war is and I certainly don't wish it on anyone. The first thing I would do is try to keep the country as far away from war as possible. But I'm not saying that keeping a country as far away from war as possible means resigning yourself to bad things that are happening. Because if we just watch, the war will come to us too.... Soldiers do not start wars. Politicians start them, and then soldiers solve it for them."[80][81]
In an August 2024 interview withDarius Rochebin in Paris, Pavel repeatedly stressed that theCharter of the United Nations gives states the right of self-defence, and furthermore that this right is unconditional. His position was clear that the west should not limit Ukraine's ability to defend itself, technologically or geographically. Pavel said that the Czech ammunition coalition had supplied 500,000 shells to that date.[82]
After his election as Chair of the NATO Military Committee in 2014, Pavel criticisedpolitical correctness, arguing that it creates an environment in which those in charge are told only what they want to hear. He said that during his tenure as Chair of the NATO Military Committee he saw many Chiefs of General Staff who were unable to call problems by their right name due to political correctness.[88]
During the presidential campaign, Pavel described himself as "right of centre, with a strong social emphasis".[86] In 2019, he argued that rich people should pay higher taxes and supports strongerredistribution of wealth. He has cited Scandinavian countries as an inspiration.[89] He said he voted for the centre-rightSpolu alliance in the2021 Czech legislative election.[90] He discussed political support from Spolu during the early stages of his presidential bid, eventually stating that he did not want to be its nominee, but would welcome its endorsement.[91] Spolu endorsed him in October 2022 together with two other candidates.[39] Pavel said he had voted forKarel Schwarzenberg in both rounds of the2013 Czech presidential election. In the2018 Czech presidential election, he voted forPavel Fischer in the first round andJiří Drahoš in the second.[92]
Pavel is known to be an avid motorcyclist. In May 2024, he was hospitalized after suffering light injuries in an accident while riding his motorcycle.[101]
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