Andrej Babis

Andrej Babiš, a Czech politician and entrepreneur, served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. Prior to this position, he held the roles of Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister from 2014 to 2017. He founded the political party ANO 2011 in 2012. Born in Bratislava, he moved to the Czech Republic in the early 1990s and became one of the richest individuals in the country, with an estimated net worth of approximately $4.04 billion. Babiš is the founder and owner of Agrofert, one of the largest firms in the Czech Republic.

On December 6, 2017, Babiš was appointed Prime Minister after ANO 2011 emerged as the largest party in the 2017 Czech legislative election. He holds the distinction of being the oldest and wealthiest person to become Prime Minister in the Czech Republic. Additionally, he is the first Prime Minister from a party other than the Civic Democratic Party or the Social Democratic Party. Babiš is also the first Prime Minister born outside of the Czech Republic, the first to hold dual citizenship, and the first whose native language is not Czech. During his time as Prime Minister, Babiš had political allies in President Miloš Zeman, the Czech Social Democratic Party, and the Communist Party.

Babiš's tenure as Prime Minister was marked by various achievements and controversies. He implemented policies that increased pensions, child tax credits, and public sector salaries. In response to the disclosure of Russian involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice explosions, Babiš expelled over 80 Russian diplomats and resident spies. However, the government faced criticism for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in around 35,000 deaths in the Czech Republic.

Furthermore, Babiš had legal disputes with the European Commission due to accusations of conflict of interest and allegations of EU subsidy fraud. After the 2021 election, he was succeeded as Prime Minister by Petr Fiala. Babiš also ran as an unsuccessful candidate in the 2023 Czech presidential election, losing in the second round to Petr Pavel.

Babiš faced legal issues during his political career. He was investigated by both the Czech police and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) from 2015 to 2017 over allegations that an anonymous company he controlled unlawfully received a €2 million subsidy from the European Regional Development Fund. He was formally charged on October 9, 2017, after being stripped of his parliamentary immunity. Although he was acquitted of the charges in January 2023, the verdict was later overturned and remanded in November 2023.

Babiš has been at the center of numerous controversies throughout his career. He has faced sustained criticism over alleged conflicts of interest, his past collaboration with the State Security Police (StB) under the code name agent Bureš, and allegations of intimidating opponents. Despite this, he remains a popular and divisive figure in the Czech Republic.

In his personal life, Babiš lives in Průhonice and owns several properties there. He was previously married to Beata Adamičová, with whom he has two children. Since the 1990s, he has been in a relationship with Monika Herodesová, with whom he has two children. Babiš married Monika in 2017 and holds dual citizenship of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He describes himself as irreligious but spiritual, and occasionally attends church.

Sources: Wikipedia, Financial Times