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Petr Mach

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For the footballer, see Petr Mach (footballer).
Petr Mach
Member of the European Parliament
for Czech Republic
In office
1 July 2014 – 31 August 2017
Personal details
Born (1975-05-06) 6 May 1975 (age 49)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
NationalityCzech
Political partyFreedom and Direct Democracy (2023–present)
Other political
affiliations		Civic Democratic Party (1997–2008)
Party of Free Citizens (2009–2019)
Tricolour (2019)
Independent (2019–2023)
Spouse
Andrea Holopová
​
(m. 2014)​
Children2
Occupationeconomist, politician
Websitepetrmach.cz

Petr Mach (born 6 May 1975) is a Czech economist and former Member of the European Parliament. Mach is the founder of the Party of Free Citizens, which he led until 2017 when he was replaced by Tomáš Pajonk.

Early career

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Mach worked as an executive director of the Center for Economics and Politics in Prague from 1999 to 2009, and as an external economic adviser to Czech President Václav Klaus from 2003 to 2007, with whom he shares enthusiasm for the free market economy and euroscepticism.[1] In 2003, Mach earned a PhD from the Department of Monetary Theory and Policy of the University of Economics, Prague.[2]

Political career

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Party of Free Citizens

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Having previously been chair of the Young Conservatives, the youth wing of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Mach left ODS at the end of 2007 after the party moved to a position of support for the Treaty of Lisbon.[3] He established a new party, the Party of Free Citizens, in 2009,[4] and was re-elected as party leader in 2010,[5] 2012,[6] 2013,[7] and 2015.[8]

In September 2010, Mach addressed the UK Independence Party (UKIP) annual conference and praised Václav Klaus for his opposition to the Lisbon Treaty. He addressed the UKIP party conference again in 2014 following their victory in the European parliament election.

Resignations and departure from politics

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On 10 December 2016, Mach resigned as chair of the Party of Free Citizens due to disputes about party direction,[9] but returned to the office and was re-elected party chairman on 22 January 2017.[10]

Mach announced his resignation as a member of the European Parliament on 31 August 2017,[11] stating that he wanted to fully concentrate on the parliamentary election campaign.[12] He was replaced by Jiří Payne.[11] Mach resigned as party leader in October after poor results in the parliamentary election,[13] and finished second behind Tomáš Pajonk in the subsequent leadership election.[14] In 2018, Mach decided not to run for election again and announced his departure from politics.[15]

Return to politics

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In September 2019, Mach was announced as a member of the Tricolour Citizens' Movement, and addressed their party conference in Brno.[16] He joined Freedom and Direct Democracy in 2023 and became the party's lead candidate in the 2024 European Parliament election,[17] heading a joint list with Trikolóra.[18][19][20] The alliance won 5.73% and one seat, which was taken by Ivan David.[21]

Political views

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Mach is considered a libertarian,[22] and argues for a lean state with minimal taxation.[23] He is against the adoption of the Euro in the Czech Republic.[24]

Personal life

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Mach is a member of Mensa Česko [cs].[25] He has been married to Reflex journalist Andrea Holopová since 2014.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Šíma, Milan (21 May 2009). "Petr Mach: Nevěděl jsem, že to je Topolánkova dcera". Týden (in Czech). Empresa Media. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
  2. ^ "Ing. Petr Mach Ph.D". volby.svobodni.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  3. ^ Křapka, David (5 March 2013). "Mach: EU je jako rozjetý vlak, který nejde zastavit ani odklonit na bezpečnou kolej". Party of Free Citizens (in Czech). Archived from the original on 1 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Petr Mach zvolen do čela Strany svobodných občanů". ČT24 (in Czech). Czech Television. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  5. ^ Mach, Petr (23 August 2012). "Svobodní zvolili nové předsednictvo". Party of Free Citizens. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013.
  6. ^ Smetka, Radim (25 June 2012). "Svobodní si zvolili nové předsednictvo". Party of Free Citizens (in Czech). Archived from the original on 31 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Svobodní zvolili předsedu a čtyři místopředsedy". Party of Free Citizens (in Czech). 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013.
  8. ^ Kašparová, Kateřina (23 November 2015). "P. Mach představil svoje programové vize novinářům". Party of Free Citizens (in Czech). Archived from the original on 8 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Předseda Svobodných Mach rezignoval, bude ale kandidovat v nové volbě". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  10. ^ Kopecký, Josef (10 November 2016). "Mach uhájil křeslo šéfa Svobodných a požaduje referendum o Czexitu". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Mach odchází z europarlamentu". Novinky.cz (in Czech). 29 August 2017.
  12. ^ Martinek, Jan (30 August 2017). "Povedu Svobodné do voleb, vysvětlil Mach svou rezignaci na euromandát". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Volby jsou neúspěch, vedení Svobodných rezignuje". Party of Free Citizens (in Czech). 23 October 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Svobodné nově povede Tomáš Pajonk". Novinky.cz (in Czech). 19 November 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  15. ^ Škraňková, Petra (16 December 2019). "Mach ze Svobodných se vzdal postu lídra do eurovoleb a končí s politikou". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra.
  16. ^ "Klaus starší, Mach a mažoretky. Trikolóra svolala ustavující sněm". Echo24.cz (in Czech). 10 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Kandidátku SPD a Trikolory povede do eurovoleb bývalý europoslanec Mach". Seznam.cz (in Czech). 2 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Volby do Evropského parlamentu konané na území České republiky ve dnech 2024" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  19. ^ Gavenda, Jaroslav (6 November 2023). "Mach, David nebo Majerová. SPD s Trikolórou vybírají kandidáty do eurovoleb". Seznam.cz (in Czech).
  20. ^ Kopecký, Josef; Hovorková, Eliška (2 December 2023). "SPD a Trikoloru povedou do evropských voleb Mach, David a Majerová". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Mafra.
  21. ^ Menšík, Jan (9 June 2024). "Volby vyhrálo ANO. STAN skončilo až za Konečnou na pátém místě". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  22. ^ Roháč, Dalibor (27 September 2014). "Libertarians and the European Union: A Rejoinder to Petr Mach". Reason.
  23. ^ Lacko, David (29 September 2013). "Předvolební speciál | Petr Mach (Svobodní): Lékem proti korupci je zmenšení státu". Skutečnosti (in Czech). Archived from the original on 16 December 2013.
  24. ^ Tůma, Ondřej (8 October 2013). "Volební speciál: Vaše peníze. Jak s nimi chtějí hospodařit Petr Mach a Strana svobodných občanů". Penize (in Czech). Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  25. ^ Lejsková, Michaela (9 October 2013). "Bondovka podle Petra Macha". Men Style (in Czech). Archived from the original on 13 December 2013.
  26. ^ Kňazovický, Lukáš (26 October 2014). "Petr Mach, šéf Svobodných, se oženil". Euro Zprávy (in Czech). Archived from the original on 27 October 2014.
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