Government and Politics of Czech Republic

Government Type

parliamentary democracy

Administrative Divisions

13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky Kraj, Jihomoravsky Kraj, Karlovarsky Kraj, Kralovehradecky Kraj, Liberecky Kraj, Moravskoslezsky Kraj, Olomoucky Kraj, Pardubicky Kraj, Plzensky Kraj, Praha*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj

Legal System

civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Czechia dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Executive Branch

chief of state: President Petr PAVEL (since 9 March 2023) note: Petr PAVEL, a retired general and former chairman of the NATO Military Committee, won the presidential runoff election on 28 January 2023, defeating former Prime Minister Andrej BABIS; he succeeded Milos ZEMAN, who served two five-year terms from 2013 to 2023; prior to ZEMAN, Vaclav KLAUS served from 2003 to 2013, and the Czech Republic's founding president Vaclav HAVEL served from 1993 to 2003 head of government: Prime Minister Petr FIALA (since 17 December 2021); Deputy Prime Ministers Vit RAKUSAN (since 17 December 2021), Ivan BARTOS (since 17 December 2021), Marian JURECKA (since 17 December 2021), and Vlastimil VALEK (since 17 December 2021) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a five-year term, eligible for a second term; election last held on 13–14 January 2023 with a runoff on 27–28 January 2023 (next election to be held in January 2028); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Petr PAVEL elected president in the second round on 28 January 2023; Petr PAVEL received 58.3% of the vote, Andrej BABIS received 41.7%; note that direct presidential elections were introduced in 2013, replacing the previous system under which the president was elected by parliament

Legislative Branch

bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held in two rounds in October 2024; Chamber of Deputies - last held 8-9 October 2021 (next to be held by October 2025) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODS 28, KDU-CSL 13, STAN 12, TOP 09 4, ANO 4, CSSD 1, Pirates 1, independents and others 18; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - SPOLU coalition (ODS, KDU-CSL, TOP 09) 27.8%, ANO 27.1%, Pirates and STAN 15.6%, SPD 9.6%, KSCM 3.6%, CSSD 4.7%, Trikolora 2.8%, other 8.8%; seats by party - SPOLU 71, ANO 72, Pirates and STAN 37, SPD 20

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term

Political Parties

Association of Independent Candidates or SNK [Josef ZIELENIEC, chairman]; Caucus Open Democracy [leader NA]; Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Miroslav KALOUSEK, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jirina NOVAKOVA, chairwoman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech FILIP, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Bohuslav SOBOTKA, acting chairman]; European Democrats [Jan KASL]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Pavel NEMEC, chairman]; Green Party [Martin BURSIK, chairman]; Independent Democrats (NEZDEM) [Vladimir ZELEZNY, chairman]; Open Democracy [leader NA]; Party of Open Society (SOS) [Pavel NOVACEK, chairman]; Path of Change [Jiri LOBKOWITZ, chairman]

Head of State

President Petr PAVEL

Head of Government

Prime Minister Petr FIALA

Cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister

Elections

Senate - last held in two rounds in October 2024; Chamber of Deputies - last held 8-9 October 2021 (next to be held by October 2025)

Election Results

Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODS 28, KDU-CSL 13, STAN 12, TOP 09 4, ANO 4, CSSD 1, Pirates 1, independents and others 18; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - SPOLU coalition (ODS, KDU-CSL, TOP 09) 27.8%, ANO 27.1%, Pirates and STAN 15.6%, SPD 9.6%, KSCM 3.6%, CSSD 4.7%, Trikolora 2.8%, other 8.8%; seats by party - SPOLU 71, ANO 72, Pirates and STAN 37, SPD 20

Constitution

ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993

Independence

1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)

National Holiday

Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918)

International Organization Participation

ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic Representation in the U.S.

chief of mission: Ambassador Petr KOLAR chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York

U.S. Diplomatic Representation

chief of mission: Ambassador William J. CABANISS embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663 FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0920

Capital City

Prague

Location

50 05 N, 14 28 E

Time Difference

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

History

the name may derive from an old Slavic root "praga" or "prah", meaning "ford", and refer to the city's origin at a crossing point of the Vltava (Moldau) River

The U.S. Embassy in Prague Trziste 15, 118 01 Prague 1, Czech Republic Telephone: (420) 257 022 000 Emergency after-hours telephone: (420) 257 022 000 Fax: (420) 257 022 809

Military Branches

Army of the Czech Republic (Armada Ceske Republiky): Joint Forces Command (Spolocene Sily; includes Land Forces (Pozemni Sily) and Air Forces (Vzdusne Sily))

Service Age and Obligation

18-28 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription