Pavel Telička

Pavel Telička (born 21 August 1965) is a Czech lobbyist, politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Czech Republic. He previously served as European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection from May 2004 to November 2004. He was a member of the ANO 2011, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe until 2017 when he quit amid disagreements with leader Andrej Babiš.

Pavel Telička
Member of the European Parliament
In office
1 July 2014 – 1 July 2019
ConstituencyCzech Republic
European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection
In office
1 May 2004 – 22 November 2004
PresidentRomano Prodi
Preceded byDavid Byrne
Succeeded byMarkos Kyprianou
Personal details
Born (1965-08-21) 21 August 1965
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party Czech:
ANO 2011 (2014–2017)
HLAS (since 2019)
 EU:
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Spouse(s)Eva Teličková
Children2
Alma materCharles University

He served as a Vice President of the European Parliament from January 2017 until 2019.

Early life

Born in Washington, D.C. as the son of a communist diplomat. He was member of Communist Party of Czechoslovakia[1] and after his graduation from the Faculty of Law, Charles University in Prague, in 1986 and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia. In the following years, he held various positions in the Czechoslovak – later Czech – ministry, including the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in the Czech Mission to the European Union (EU) in Brussels. From 1998 onwards, he served as Chief Negotiator for the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union.[2]

European Union

In February 2004 Czech government nominated Miloš Kužvart, the former Czech Environment Minister, as a candidate for the EU commissioner. Kužvart, however, was allegedly not able to communicate in any foreign language, although he does in fact speak English, and allegedly lacked insight into EU affairs. He stepped down in a dramatic way after his first candidate visit in Brussels. Under time pressure the government nominated Telička.

When the Czech Republic entered the EU on 1 May 2004 Telička became EU commissioner in the Prodi Commission. He shared the portfolio of Health and Consumer Protection with David Byrne. He held this post only until November 2004; he did not continue in the following Barroso Commission due to a Czech government crisis in summer 2004. He was succeeded as the Czech commissioner by Vladimír Špidla, the former Czech Prime Minister who resigned during a crisis.[2]

Soon after, in December 2004, he co-founded BXL Consulting with offices in Prague and Brussels. BXL Consulting was providing consultancy in EU affairs but as of 2014 it is no longer doing so.[3][4] In 2013 he supported ANO 2011 led by Andrej Babiš in the Czech parliament elections; he was its candidate for the 2014 European Parliament election.[5] Since his election in July 2014, he was a vice-chair in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe[6] until the 2019 European Parliament election.

He was also elected president of the Czech Rugby Union in November 2009.[7]

References
  1. "Telička v EP: členství v KSČ byl hřích mládí". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  2. "Welcome to British Council - Turkey". 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. "Pavel Telička přešel k lobbistům". iDNES.cz. 11 December 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Bývalý eurokomisař Telička jde k Babišovi do hnutí ANO". 29 August 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  6. Profile on the website of the European Parliament http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/124706/PAVEL_TELICKA_home.html
  7. "Česká Rugbyová Unie (Czech Rugby Union)". Archived from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
Political offices
New office Czech European Commissioner
2004		 Succeeded by
Vladimír Špidla
Preceded by
David Byrne		 European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection
2004
Served alongside: David Byrne		 Succeeded by
Markos Kyprianou
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