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Jiri Drahos

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Jiri Drahos (born in Silesian Jablunkov on February 20, 1949) is a physicist who served as President of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic between 2009 and 2017. Drahos worked as a senior scientist during communism, refusing over the years to cooperate with State Security and repeated offers to join the Communist Party.

Prior to his 2018 campaign, Drahos had never held political office nor been a member of any political party. In March 2017 he declared his candidacy for president of the Czech Republic in the 2018 election and announced in August he had collected the necessary 50,000 signatures to run in the election. In keeping with his academic background, he put the issues of creative education and innovation at the heart of his campaign, as well as compliance with the constitution, respect for the family and human dignity, and the opening up of Prague Castle to the public.

Drahos was a candidate for president of the Czech Republic. The election took place from January 12–13, 2018. Drahos advanced to the runoff election, which was held from January 26–27.

On the trail

Campaign Finance

Drahos accumulated the necessary 50,000 signatures for competing in the presidential election in August 2017 and, as per new rules over the financing of political parties and entities, opened a compulsory transparent bank account for the presidential election, into which a maximum of CZK40mn ($1.8mn) can be garnered with a further CZK10mn possible for the runoff. As of August 18, the account held CZK9,188,882.78 ($420,862), making it one of the most active accounts among the candidates vying for the presidency. He was regarded as one of the election favorites and Zeman’s strongest rivals.

Advisers & Staff

Pavel Kolar, campaign manager; Jiri Voldan, spokesperson.

Polls

As of October 2017, there were no polls that included Bostik’s candidacy.

Czech Republic Presidential Election, 2018
Poll Milos Zeman Michal HoracekJiri Drahos
Medea Research
August 18-27, 2017
42.25%17.12%19.05%
Focus
August 14-28, 2017
28.1%12.4%13%
AVERAGES 35.18% 14.76% 16.03%
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

On the issues

Domestic Policy

Drahos was pro-business, especially focused on small business and entrepreneurs, and believed one of the main functions of the president is that of opening the economic gates to Czech business. He said economic diplomacy must always be in the interest of the state, not of individual firms and individuals. Also, he said the president should nurture the political scene, moderate the debate within the state, and oversee the maintenance of the constitution and the law.

Foreign Policy

Drahos was pro-Euro-Atlantic in outlook, arguing that the European Union is “a very successful 60-year project”, although admitted at the time it is undergoing a difficult stage in its development with Brexit, which will entail the growing importance of France and Germany in the bloc. “If we want to be part of the decisions, we have to sit at the table,” he has said.

On relations with the other members of the Visegrad 4 (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) he said there was a divergence between Czechia and Slovakia on one hand, Hungary and Poland on the other, though he noted that defense aspects of the four countries could be developed to help rationalize defense spending and create joined-up spending.

On the migrant crisis, Drahos emphasized not only the consequences but also the importance of addressing the causes of migration and terrorist attacks. He advocated better defense of the EU's external borders and the strengthening of security forces, including the secret services. "Thanks to the economic strength of Europe, problems can be solved in the places where they originate. Every new well or irrigation system for food production in Sub-Saharan Africa reduces the local population's motivation to migrate,” Drahos has said.

Political savvy

Character

Cerebral and thoughtful, Drahos stood in contrast to the incumbent Milos Zeman who was known for being an outspoken and bruising political operator. In a nod to Zeman’s reputation for bluntness, Drahos talked of the culture of the Czech political scene being like the proverbial fish rotting from the head: “People don’t like harshness, aggression, humiliation. They do not want it from the president.”

Personal

Drahos is married to Eva Drahosova, with whom he has two daughters. In 2012, he received the First Degree Medal of Merit for the State of Science from then president Vaclav Klaus. He was the co-holder of a number of patents, including those for recycling of waste plastic and drying of paper material.

Recent news

See also

Footnotes