Petr Pavel

Petr Pavel
Official portrait, 2023
4th President of the Czech Republic
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 March 2023
Prime Minister	Petr Fiala
Preceded by	Miloš Zeman
Chair of the NATO Military Committee
In office 26 June 2015 – 29 June 2018
Preceded by	Knud Bartels
Succeeded by	Stuart Peach
Chief of the General Staff
In office 1 July 2012 – 1 May 2015
President	Václav Klaus Miloš Zeman
Preceded by	Vlastimil Picek
Succeeded by	Josef Bečvář
Personal details
Born	(1961-11-01) 1 November 1961 (age 63) Planá, Czechoslovakia
Political party	Communist Party (1985–1989) Independent (1989–present)
Spouse(s)	Hana Pavlová ​ (m. 1986⁠–⁠2001)​ Eva Pavlová ​ (m. 2004)​
Children	3
Alma mater	Military University of the Ground Forces Vyškov [cs] (1979–1983, Ing.) Military Academy Brno [cs] (1988–1991) King's College London (2005–2006, MA)
Awards	Cross of Merit of the Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic Medal of Heroism Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) Officer of the Legion of Honour (France) Cross for Military Valour (France)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Czechoslovakia (1979–1992) Czech Republic (1993–2018)
Branch/service	Czechoslovak People's Army (1979–1990) Czechoslovak Army (1990–1992) Czech Army (1993–2018)
Years of service	1979–2018
Rank	Army general
Battles/wars	Yugoslav Wars UNPROFOR missions Afghanistan War Operation Enduring Freedom Iraq War 2003 invasion of Iraq

Petr Pavel (Czech: [ˈpɛtr̩ ˈpavɛl]; born 1 November 1961) is a Czech politician and retired army general, currently serving as the president of the Czech Republic since March 2023. Prior to this, he held the position of Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2015 to 2018, and served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces between 2012 and 2015.

Born in Planá to a military family, Pavel enlisted right after graduating from military academy in 1983. He served in the Czechoslovak People's Army and joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1985. Following the Velvet Revolution in 1989, and the subsequent dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Pavel served in the newly established Czech Army and participated in the 1993 evacuation of Karin Base during the Croatian War of Independence, which earned him praise and international recognition. Pavel rose through the ranks of the military to become the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces from 2012 to 2015. He was subsequently selected as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee between 2015 and 2018, becoming the first military officer from the former Eastern Bloc to hold the post. At NATO, he oversaw the Alliance's response and fallout of the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and the 2018 Turkish invasion of Afrin, as well as efforts to tackle rising Chinese influence. Pavel retired from the military after 44 years and was discharged with honors after his term expired.

In 2021, Pavel announced his presidential bid in the 2023 election. He ran on a platform of closer cooperation with NATO allies, support for Ukraine and greater involvement in the European Union. He embraced a hawkish stance on Russia and China. Pavel won the first round of the election with 35 percent and went on to win the runoff against former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš with 58 percent of the vote, to become the fourth president of the Czech Republic and 12th president since the Czechoslovak declaration of independence in 1918. Pavel was inaugurated on 9 March 2023, succeeding Miloš Zeman. He is the second president with a military background (after Ludvík Svoboda) and the first without political experience.

In his first hundred days in office, Pavel appointed three judges to the Constitutional Court and made 11 international trips, including a visit to Kyiv and Dnipro, becoming the first foreign head of state to travel to Eastern Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.