Vaclav Klaus
Václav Klaus (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvaːtslaf ˈklaus]; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second President of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. He also served as the second and last Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, federal subject of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, from July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, and as the first Prime Minister of an independent Czech Republic from 1993 to 1998. Klaus was the principal co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. His presidency was marked by numerous controversies over his strong views on a number of issues, from global climate change to euroscepticism, and a wide-ranging amnesty declared in his last months of office. After his presidency ended in 2013, Klaus was named a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. His appointment was terminated in September 2014, due to his views on the War in Eastern Ukraine, his hostility to homosexuality, and support of European far right parties.