Josef Zieleniec

Josef Zieleniec
Member of the European Parliament
In office 12 June 2004 – 2009
1st Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
In office 1 January 1993 – 23 October 1997
Succeeded by	Jaroslav Šedivý
Personal details
Born	(1946-05-28) May 28, 1946 Moscow, RSFSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Czech
Political party	Public Affairs
Other political affiliations	Civic Democratic Party (1992–2004) SNK European Democrats (2004–9)
Alma mater	VŠE
Profession	Economist, Politician

Doc.Ing. Josef Zieleniec, CSc. (born 28 May 1946 in Moscow) is a Czech politician and former Member of the European Parliament. From 2004, he has been a member of the SNK-ED. In the European Parliament, he was a member of the European People's Party and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

Early life and education

Zieleniec was born to Polish parents. He received his Master's degree in 1974 from the University of Economics, Prague, and in 1986 received the postgraduate qualification 'Candidate of Sciences' from the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague.

Academic career

Zieleniec spent most of his professional career working as an economist. From 1973 until the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia's [Velvet Revolution]] in 1989, he worked first as a research fellow in the Institute of Research in Engineering Technology and Economics Research, and later at the Institute of Economics of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Apart from research in microeconomic theory, he dealt with problems of economic transition from a centrally planned to market economy. The study "Czechoslovakia at the crossroads", based on his research, had a significant impact on discussions of economic reforms after 1989.

At the beginning of 1990 Zieleniec co-founded The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education,the first American-style economics Ph.D. program in Central and Eastern Europe, at the Charles University in Prague. He became its first director, was also appointed senior lecturer in economics and was a member of the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University. From 1998–2003 he was a businessman.

Political career

From 1992–1997 he was Vice-Chairman of Civic Democratic Party (ODS), and since 2004 has been political leader of the SNK (Association of Independent Candidates. From 1996–2000 he was a Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, and in 2000 he was elected for a four-year term to the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. In 1992 he was appointed Minister for Foreign Relations of Czechoslovakia. From 1993–1997 he was Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, and from 1996–1997 he was Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.

See also

• European Parliament election, 2004 (Czech Republic)

External links

• Personal profile of Josef Zieleniec in the European Parliament's database of members
• Declaration (PDF) of financial interests (Czech)

Government offices
Preceded by -	Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic 1993–1997	Succeeded by Jaroslav Šedivý