PRAGUE - The Czech Pirate Party elected a new Republican Bureau at the meeting of the National Forum in Prague today. It will lead the Pirates for the next two years and will also lead them through the elections to the Chamber of Deputies. In addition to chairman Zdeněk Hřibo, the members chose Martin Šmída, Hana Hajnova and Michal Bláha.
"I thank everyone who went to the election and those who voted. We managed to put together a strong team and at the same time the membership supported my proposal to reform the internal functioning of the party. We will now be more understandable to our constituents and make it clear that we are behind them and can solve everyday problems for ordinary people. I look forward to working with you in the new presidency." Zdeněk Hřib, chair of the Pirates, commented on today's vote.
"Thank you very much for your trust. You have not only elected me, you have elected yourselves. Because no one else will do the job for us." said First Vice-Chair Martin Šmída, referring to the Pirate Women and Pirates. "The biggest task that awaits us now is to unite. There has already been enough negativity. We are not here for ourselves. We're here for the people out there. For the people who hope that there is and will be a force in our political arena that will defend their interests, that will give them a vision of a better future. And now we have to work to show these people that we are the ones who can bring them that future. All of us here. I will do my best to contribute. And I'm asking each and every one of us to try to do that." Šmída added.
"Thank you very much for your trust, I accept it with all humility. I would like to thank the people who have supported me over the past year and have shown me how great the Pirates are. That we have real solutions, for example, in the field of education, that we can secure places in secondary schools, that we have answers to economic issues and that we can make people's lives more comfortable. I am ready to work with the President-elect to ensure that we succeed in the next election and that we can push our agenda forward." Hana Hajnová commented on the result of the election immediately after it was announced.
"I would like to thank everyone who supported me. I really appreciate it. But I would also like to thank the other candidates for a fair fight. It was a very interesting debate. Now we have 11 months to convince the world around us, our potential voters, and our disenchanted voters that we deserve their votes." said Michal Bláha after his election.
The new Pirates' Bureau has replaced the incumbent chair, Ivan Bartos, and vice-chairs Klára Kocmanová, Markéta Gregorová, and Dominika Poživilová Michailida. Hana Hajnová defended her mandate in the Presidency. The fourth Vice-Chairperson could not be elected at today's meeting due to time constraints, and his election will take place in the next few days in the online forum.
Background information on the newly elected
ZDENĚK HŘIB
Zdeněk Hřib (* 21 May 1981) has been a pirate guarantor in the area of healthcare since May 2016, graduated from the 3rd Faculty of Medicine at Charles University, previously worked as a researcher in the area of quality of care and patient safety, participated in the development of the eRecept application, and was a member of the VZP board of directors from January 2018 to February 2019. His professional focus is on healthcare and municipal politics.
From November 2018 to February 2023 he was the Mayor of Prague. In this capacity, he faced several global crises (the epidemic of the covid pandemic, the economic crisis and the beginning of the war in Ukraine and the associated large influx of mostly women, children and the elderly to Prague from war-affected areas). He is now the First Deputy Mayor of Prague with responsibility for transport. He oversees the construction of the largest current infrastructure investments in the Czech Republic - from the construction of the Dvorecký Bridge, Metro D, the reconstruction of the Barrandov Bridge, the preparation of the Smichov Terminal, and the preparation of the VRT. It fights for increased powers for municipalities and towns so that the principle of subsidiarity is actually implemented, because public affairs should be dealt with as close to the people as possible.
MARTIN ŠMÍDA
Martin Šmída (* 11 June 1985) studied management informatics, economics and business management and real estate engineering at Brno University of Technology. Since 2011, he has worked as the head of the composting plant, from 2014 to 2020 he was a councillor of the municipality of Majetín and from 2020 to October 2024 he was a councillor and a councillor of the Olomouc Region.
In politics, he focuses on the environment, agriculture and, in particular, waste management. It also prioritises improving the quality of life, defending human freedoms and focusing on the future through modern education, decent jobs and affordable housing. Last but not least, it also promotes support for rural areas and assistance to disadvantaged regions.
HANA HAJNOVÁ
Hana Hajnová (* July 18, 1985) is a heartthrob from Vysočina with an interest in innovation, renewable energy and new technologies. She graduated from the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, majoring in European Studies with a focus on regional politics. She is a project manager by profession, from writing and managing projects to consulting startups and preparing regional innovation strategy.
Since 2018, she has been a councillor in the town of Telč, and from 2020 to 2024 she was the statutory deputy for regional development of the Vysočina Region. In politics, she deals with energy, development of the knowledge economy and setting and targeting subsidy programmes. She is also trying to get more women into the public space, for example with the Women of Vysočina project.
MICHAL BLÁHA
Michal Bláha (* October 19, 1972) is an entrepreneur, director of the non-profit organization Hlídač státu and a promoter of e-gov/smart and modern state. He is involved in IT, innovation and digital transformation, since 2014 mainly in state administration. He provides consultations to state authorities, helps with the implementation of systemic changes in state administration.
He has been working with the Pirates since 2016 on strategies, election programmes and digitisation methods, and he helped with the Open House project. From 2022 to 2024, he was an advisor to Ivan Bartos, actively participated in the creation of the Law on the Right to Digital Service and initiated the creation of the Digital and Information Agency. He also serves for the Pirates on the Board of Trustees of the VZP.
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