Jan Hamáček Explained

Jan Hamáček
Office:Leader of the Social Democratic Party
Term Start:18 February 2018
Term End:25 October 2021
Predecessor:Milan Chovanec
Successor:Michal Šmarda
Office1:First Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
Primeminister1:Andrej Babiš
Term Start1:27 June 2018
Term End1:17 December 2021
Predecessor1:Richard Brabec (2017)
Successor1:Vít Rakušan
Office2:Minister of the Interior
Primeminister2:Andrej Babiš
Term Start2:27 June 2018
Term End2:17 December 2021
Predecessor2:Lubomír Metnar
Successor2:Vít Rakušan
Office3:Minister of Foreign Affairs
Primeminister4:Andrej Babiš
Term Start4:27 June 2018
Term End4:16 October 2018
Predecessor4:Martin Stropnický
Successor4:Tomáš Petříček
Primeminister3:Andrej Babiš
Term Start3:12 April 2021
Term End3:21 April 2021
Predecessor3:Tomáš Petříček
Successor3:Jakub Kulhánek
Term Start5:27 November 2013
Term End5:22 November 2017
Predecessor5:Miroslava Němcová
Successor5:Radek Vondráček
Office6:Member of the Chamber of Deputies
Term Start6:3 June 2006
Term End6:21 October 2021
Birth Date:4 November 1978
Birth Place:Mladá Boleslav, Czechoslovakia
Party:Social Democracy (2001–2024)
Children:Lukáš
Matyáš
Website:hamacek.cz

Jan Hamáček (born 4 November 1978) is a Czech politician who was leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) from February 2018 until October 2021, and minister of the Interior from June 2018 to December 2021. He also served as the President of the Chamber of Deputies from 2013 to 2017,[1] and was acting minister of Foreign Affairs from June to October 2018 and from 12 to 21 April 2021. Hamáček was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2006 to 2021.

Political career

Prior to his election to parliament, Hamáček worked as an adviser to two prime ministers, and as his party's International Secretary.

Hamáček was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the 2006 elections. During his time in parliament, he has held the position of Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, headed the Czech delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and served on the Committee on European Affairs.[2]

Hamáček became the leader of ČSSD in March 2018. In Andrej Babis' Second Cabinet, sworn in during June 2018, he was named Minister of the Interior, and also served as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs from June to October 2018. Miroslav Poche was originally nominated to be the minister, but due to President Miloš Zeman's refusal to swear him in, Hamáček was made acting foreign minister until the situation could be resolved. On 16 October 2018, Tomáš Petříček was named the new Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In August 2018, Hamáček helped negotiate the release of two workers from a German humanitarian group in Syria, and traveled to Damascus for the handover of the workers; the Czech Republic is the only country in Europe that maintains diplomatic relations with Syria.[3]

In 2021, reported that Hamáček was considering negotiating with Russia not to disclose evidence of Russia's involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouses explosions in exchange for 1 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine. Hamáček denied the accusation and said that he intended to sue the media outlet. The journalist,, said that he had an audio recording.[4]

After ČSSD's poor performance in the 2021 Czech legislative election, in which the party failed to meet the 5% voting threshold, Hamáček resigned as leader of the party.[5] He left the party in June 2024, following another poor performance in the 2024 European Parliament election.[6]

Other activities

He is a Senior Network Member at the European Leadership Network (ELN).[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jan Hamacek. Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. 27 July 2015.
  2. Web site: Jan Hamáček. Aspen Institute Central Europe.
  3. News: Jason. Hovet. 11 August 2018. Czech diplomats secure release of German NGO workers in Syria. Reuters.
  4. News: Plevák . Ondřej . Czech Deputy PM files civil suit against article accusing him of Russia collusion . 6 May 2021 . euractiv.com . 6 May 2021.
  5. News: 2021-10-09. Končím, prohlásil Hamáček po propadu ČSSD ve volbách. 2021-10-10. iDNES.cz. cs. Mafra.
  6. News: Kolář. Petr. 2024-06-13. V SOCDEM to vře, Hamáček odchází. Stranu už nepoznávám, říká. 2024-06-14. iDNES.cz. cs. Mafra.
  7. Web site: Senior Network. 2020-09-21. europeanleadershipnetwork.org.