Czech economist, manager and politician, since December 2025 First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade.

Karel Havlíček, 2023
Karel Havlíček, 2023Photo: David Sedlecký, 2023 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Karel Havlíček (* 16 August 1969) is a Czech economist, manager, university lecturer and politician. In the government of Andrej Babiš, which President Petr Pavel appointed on 15 December 2025, he is First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade.[1][2]

Education

In 1992 he graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague. He obtained an MBA in 1998 at the Prague International Business School and a doctorate in 2004 at the Faculty of Business Administration of the Prague University of Economics and Business. In 2014 he qualified as an associate professor (habilitation) at the Faculty of Finance and Accounting of the Prague University of Economics and Business.[1]

Career

From 2001 he worked in the industrial group Sindat, first as sales director and from 2008 to 2019 as chief executive officer, managing director and co-owner.[1] From 2001 to 2010 he was deputy chairman and from 2010 to 2019 chairman of the board of the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Crafts of the Czech Republic (Asociace malých a středních podniků a živnostníků ČR).[1] From 2012 to 2019 he was dean of the Faculty of Economic Studies of the University of Finance and Administration, which he founded.[1] From 2014 he was a member, and from 2018 to 2022 deputy chairman, of the Research, Development and Innovation Council.[1]

Politics

From 2019 to 2021 he was Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy. He also held the posts of Minister of Industry and Trade and Minister of Transport.[1] He is the author of the innovation strategy Czech Republic: The Country for the Future.[1] From 2021 to 2025 he was a member and deputy chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, first deputy chairman of the ANO movement and chairman of its shadow cabinet. He prepared the economic strategy Czechia: The Country for the Future 2.0.[1]

In the programme "Sorry jako", Minister Havlíček said that the government plans to raise the quotas for recruiting foreign workers from the Philippines and India, and that together with the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Aleš Juchelka he wants to travel to the Philippines in early 2027. [3]

According to Blesk.cz, Havlíček led a mission to India in October 2026. [4]

Pages linking here

Sources

  1. Vláda České republiky
  2. Vláda České republiky — 15 December 2025
  3. ČT24 — 15 October 2026
  4. Blesk.cz — 14 October 2026