Klaus, Václav (1941– )

Czech politician and economist, prime minister of the Czech Republic 1993–97 and president from 2003. Before the break-up of Czechoslovakia, he served as finance minister in the government of Václav Havel and was chair of Civic Forum from 1990, breaking away to form the right-of-centre Civic Democratic Party (CDP) in 1991. While he was prime minister, the Czech Republic underwent a programme of rapid reform and privatization, which initially saw its economy outperform those of all its former communist neighbours. As president, he also oversaw the country's accession to the European Union (EU) in 2004.

When the new independent republic was created, in January 1993, Klaus became its first prime minister. Market-centred reforms were swiftly introduced and met with success, but after elections in 1996, Klaus headed an increasingly divided minority coalition and faced problems of slowing economic growth driving levels of corruption. He resigned in November 1997 after a scandal over party financing, which led to a serious split in the CDP in 1998 and to the formation of a breakaway Freedom Union party. He was speaker of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house) from 1998, before being elected state president by parliament in 2003.

Klaus was born and educated in Prague and went on to hold a number of academic posts 1971–87. He became politically active in the events that led to the ‘velvet revolution’ of November 1989.