Petr Pavel

About

Petr Pavel (born 1 November 1961) is a Czech politician and retired army general, currently serving as the fourth president of the Czech Republic, in office since March 2023. Prior to this, he served as Chair 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, joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1985, and then joined the Communist military intelligence in 1988. 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…