Marek Ženíšek

Marek Ženíšek
MP
Marek Ženíšek (2024)
Minister for Science and Research
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 May 2024
Prime MinisterPetr Fiala
Preceded byHelena Langšádlová
1st Vice-Chairman TOP 09
In office
29 November 2015 – 26 November 2017
Preceded byMiroslav Kalousek
Succeeded byMarkéta Pekarová Adamová
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 October 2021
In office
26 October 2013 – 26 October 2017
Personal details
Born
Marek Ženíšek

(1978-11-26) 26 November 1978 (age 46)
Plzeň, Czechoslovakia
Political partyTOP 09 (2009 – present)
KDU-ČSL (2005 – 2009)
Children2
Alma materUniversity of West Bohemia
Charles University
Websitemarek-zenisek.cz

Marek Ženíšek (born 26 November 1978)[1] is a Czech politician and political scientist, who has been serving as the Czech Minister for Science and Research in Petr Fiala's Cabinet since May 2024.[2] He was vice-chairman of TOP 09 between 2009 and 2019, and first vice-chairman from 2015 to 2017. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2013 to 2017, and again from 2021, and has served as Deputy Minister of Justice (2008-2011)[1] and First Deputy Minister of Health (2012-2013). Since 2020, Ženíšek has been a regional assembly member in the Plzeň Region and a Deputy Governor.[3]

Early life and education

Marek Ženíšek was born in Plzeň on 26 November 1978.[1] He graduated from the Faculty of Humanities of the University of West Bohemia in Plzeň (now the Faculty of Arts) and the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University in Prague.[1]

Academic career

He is the author or co-author of several books and academic articles on political and electoral systems, and is the scientific secretary of the Czech Society for Political Science.[1] Since 2003, he has been lecturing at the Department of Political Science and International Relations of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of West Bohemia, where he received his doctorate in political science in 2006,[1] and since 2008 also at the Prague Metropolitan University.[4]

Political career

Early career

From 2005 to 2009, Ženíšek was a member of the Christian and Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-ČSL).[5] At the municipal elections in 2006, he was elected as a representative in one of the city districts of Plzeň, holding the mandate until 2010. In 2007, he began working at the Ministry of Justice, from 2008 as Deputy Minister.[5]

TOP 09

Ženíšek became a member of the preparatory committee of TOP 09 in June 2009. He was elected vice-chairman at the party's National Constituent Assembly on 27 and 28 November 2009. As vice-chairman he was responsible for foreign relations.[6] Ženíšek was re-elected vice-chairman at the second TOP 09 National Assembly on 22 and 23 October 2011 in Hradec Králové,[6] and the third in Prague on 8 December 2013.[7]

At the beginning of 2012, Ženíšek was appointed First Deputy Minister of Health by Leoš Heger, dealing mainly with the economic management of the ministry and its directly managed organizations. He was involved in the beginning of the long-term project to reform psychiatry in the Czech Republic.[6] In the autumn regional elections in 2012, Ženíšek was elected to the Plzeň Regional Assembly, but resigned this mandate due to the conflict with his role as Deputy Health Minister.[8] He resigned as First Deputy Minister of Health following the inauguration of Jiří Rusnok's government on 1 August 2013, saying he could not imagine continuing at the ministry while also vice-chairman of TOP 09.[9]

Parliamentary career

In the 2013 parliamentary election, Ženíšek was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as the lead candidate for TOP 09 in the Plzeň Region.[10] In November 2015, at the fourth TOP 09 National Assembly in Prague, he was elected the party's first vice-chairman, receiving 124 votes out of 173 delegates (72%), and replacing Miroslav Kalousek, who became the party's chairman.[11] He was again top of the TOP 09 list at the 2017 parliamentary election, but was not re-elected.[12][13] At the end of November 2017, he was elected TOP 09 vice-chairman, and was replaced by Markéta Pekarová Adamová as the party's first vice-chairman.[14]

During the 2019 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic, Ženíšek ran as a member of TOP 09 in sixth place on the candidate list "Mayors (STAN) with regional partners and TOP 09", but was not elected.[15][16] In November 2019, he stood unsuccessfully for re-election as vice-chairman of TOP 09.[17]

In regional elections in 2020, Ženíšek was elected to the Plzeň Regional Assembly as a member of TOP 09, on the list for the "Civic Democratic Party with the support of TOP 09 and independent mayors" group.[18] On 12 November 2020, he became a regional councillor of the Plzeň Region with responsibility for culture and monument care.[19]

In the 2021 Czech parliamentary election, Ženíšek was elected on the list of the Spolu coalition of ODS, KDU-ČSL and TOP 09 in the Plzeň Region.[20]

Personal life

Ženíšek is married and has a son. His leisure interests include reading, sports and traveling.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Marek Ženíšek". Vlada.cz. Government of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  2. ^ Menšík, Jan (16 May 2024). "Pavel jmenoval Ženíška novým ministrem pro vědu a výzkum". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Plzeňský kraj povede Ilona Mauritzová" [The Plzeň Region will be led by Ilona Mauritzová]. Plzeň Region (in Czech). 12 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Západočeská univerzita - Zaměstnanci". University of West Bohemia (in Czech).
  5. ^ a b "Marek Zenísek". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). 7 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Marek Ženíšek". TOP 09 (in Czech). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  7. ^ Kopecký, Josef (9 December 2013). "TOP 09 potvrdila lídry. Kalousek varoval před monarchou a oligarchou". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra.
  8. ^ "Volby do zastupitelstev krajů konané dne 2012 | Plzeňský kraj – TOP 09 + STAN" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  9. ^ Nohl, Radek (9 July 2013). "S Hegerem a Kubicem končí i jejich první náměstci". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). Economia. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  10. ^ "TOP 09 vybrala krajské lídry". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Borgis. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Sjezd TOP 09: Strana si zvolila vedení, Kalousek je novým předsedou, Ženíšek 1. místopředseda". Euro Zprávy (in Czech). 8 December 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Volby 2017 do Poslanecké sněmovny Parlamentu ČR". TOP 09 (in Czech). 10 August 2017. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Jmenné seznamy" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Pospíšil vede TOP 09. Varoval před Babišem a putinovským Ruskem". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  15. ^ "STAN a TOP 09 představily kandidátku pro evropské volby. Lídrem je Pospíšil". Deník Referendum (in Czech). 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Volby do Evropského parlamentu konané na území České republiky ve dnech 2019 | Strana STAN+TOP 09" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Předsedkyní TOP 09 se stala Pekarová Adamová. Pospíšil nebude ani řadovým místopředsedou". Czech Radio (in Czech). Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Volby do zastupitelstev krajů konané dne | Plzeňský kraj | Všechny kandidátní listiny" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  19. ^ Nedvěd, Jaroslav; Bílá, Valentýna (12 November 2020). "Budu se věnovat i kvalitě života v malých obcích, slíbila nová hejtmanka". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Kandidáti pro Plzeňský kraj". Spolu (in Czech). Retrieved 2021-09-15.