Vladimír Špidla
| Vladimír Špidla | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 4th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic | |
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In office 15 July 2002 – 4 August 2004 |
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| President |
Václav Havel Václav Klaus |
| Preceded by | Miloš Zeman |
| Succeeded by | Stanislav Gross |
| European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities | |
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In office 22 November 2004 – 9 February 2010 |
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| President | José Manuel Barroso |
| Preceded by |
Anna Diamantopoulou Stavros Dimas (Employment and Social Affairs) |
| Succeeded by | László Andor (Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) |
| Leader of the Social Democratic Party | |
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In office 7 April 2001 – 26 June 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Miloš Zeman |
| Succeeded by | Stanislav Gross |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
21 April 1951 Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | Charles University in Prague |
| Signature |  |
Vladimír Špidla (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvlaɟɪmiːr ˈʃpɪdla]) (born 22 April 1951) is a Czech politician who served as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from July 2002 to June 2004 and as European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities from November 2004 to February 2010. Currently, he serves as a Chief Aide to Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.
Born in Prague, Špidla studied history at Charles University of Prague. His thesis was Založení Živnostenské banky (Establishment of the Entrepreneurial Bank). After his graduation in 1976, he took up a number of jobs including menial as he refused to fulfil political obligations necessary for better-qualified ones; he also worked as an archaeologist. He is married for the second time; Špidla has two sons from his first marriage and another two children acquired by marriage. His hobbies include cross-country and marathon running. He speaks German and French, but his English is weaker; this was used to call into question his qualification for the European Commission.
After the Velvet revolution he entered local politics in the town of Jindřichův Hradec where he lived and immediately joined the re-founded Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD, then called Czechoslovak Social Democracy). In 1991–1996 he served as the director of the district labour office. In 1992, he became a member of the Presidium of ČSSD, in March 1997 its statutory Vice-Chairman, and in April 2001 Chairman of ČSSD after its previous chairman Miloš Zeman stepped aside. In 1996 he was elected to the parliament. He was First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the government of Miloš Zeman (22 July 1998 to 12 July 2002).
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