Vít Jedlička | |
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Born | |
Alma mater | University of Economics, Prague, CEVRO Institute |
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Vít Jedlička (Czech: [ˈviːt ˈjɛdlɪtʃka]; born 6 September 1983) is a Czech libertarian politician, publicist and activist.
He was the chairman of the Party of Free Citizens in the Hradec Králové Region and currently serves as the founder and chairman of the Czech voluntary association Reformy.cz.[1][2] On 13 April 2015, he founded the self-declared libertarian micronation the Free Republic of Liberland and has been president since the micronation was founded.[3][4][5]
Education
In 2008, Jedlička received a bachelor’s degree in international relations and affairs from the University of Economics, Prague.[6][7] He gained his master’s degree in political science at the CEVRO Institute in 2014.
Background
Jedlička's father was removed from his office job at the Institute of Weights and Measures in Prague after losing favour with the authorities for resisting the Communist Party membership and was sent to work as a mechanic. During the 1997 Czech financial crisis, his family nearly went bankrupt when the Czech central bank raised interest rates to 25 percent.[8] Jedlička's working career ranges from sales and management to financial analysis and IT. From 2006 to 2009, he was the managing director of HKfree.net,[7] a civic network and internet service in his hometown of Hradec Králové. From 2009 to 2014,[9] Jedlička was the regional chairman of the Party of Free Citizens. In 2011, he co-founded Reformy.cz, a community news service of libertarian roots, and became its chairman.[10][6]
Politics
From 2001, Vít Jedlička was a member of Civic Democratic Party. Since 2009 he has been a member of the Free Citizens Party. In 2009 he was elected the first regional president in Hradec Králové Region of the Free Citizens Party.[11]
As an independent, Jedlička was the leading candidate of the coalition of the Free Citizens Party, Liberland, and Radostné Česko - ODEJDEME BEZ PLACENÍ for the 2019 European Parliament election in the Czech Republic.[12]
Views
Jedlička considers himself as libertarian with liberal views on individual freedom and the least state intrusion possible.[13] A Property and Freedom Society attendee in 2015, his views are similar to that of American politician Ron Paul.[14] He has described himself as a Bastiat-influenced anarcho-capitalist in a podcast.[15] Jedlička is a Eurosceptic who alleges there is a democratic deficit in the institution of the EU and abuses of basic moral rules by EU institutions and EU member states.[16] Jedlička described the European Stability Mechanism as a protectorate.[17] He opposes socialism.[18]
Liberland
On 13 April 2015, Vít Jedlička proclaimed the Free Republic of Liberland on what he considered unclaimed land, (terra nullius) known as Siga, between Serbia and Croatia. The Preparatory Committee which Jedlička appointed elected him as president that same day.[4][19]
References
- ↑ "Connecting People Through News". Retrieved 24 October 2015 – via PressReader.
- ↑ "Klub Reformy.cz - Vít Jedlička (blog.idnes.cz)". Vitjedlicka.blog.idnes.cz. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- ↑ Euan McKirdy. "Is Liberland the world's newest micronation?". CNN. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- 1 2 "Člen Svobodných vyhlásil na území bývalé Jugoslávie vlastní stát" (in Czech). novinky.cz.
- ↑ Lewis-kraus, Gideon (11 August 2015). "Welcome to Liberland, the World's Newest Country (Maybe)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- 1 2 "Bc. Vít Jedlička - Životopis" (PDF) (in Czech). svobodni.cz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2011.
- 1 2 "Kandidát na primátora: VÍT JEDLIČKA". Hradecký Deník (in Czech). Denik. 4 September 2010.
- ↑ "Live and let live: inside the Free Republic of Liberland". FreeStatesman. 12 June 2016.
- ↑ "Královéhradecký kraj" (in Czech). Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014.
- ↑ "O nás" [About us]. Reformy.cz (in Czech).
- ↑ "Člen Svobodných vyhlásil na území bývalé Jugoslávie vlastní stát". Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 25 May 2016.
- ↑ "Jmenné seznamy | volby.cz".
- ↑ "Je pravičák a vzteká se: Nečas lže a zrazuje ODS" (in Czech). Parlamentní listy.
- ↑ "Pravičák Jedlička: Usama byl zabit bez soudu. Opovrhování právy" (in Czech). Parlamentní listy.
- ↑ "Anarchast Ep. 217 Vit Jedlička: The President of the New Anarcho-Capitalist State Liberland". Youtube.
- ↑ "Jakub Janda / Vít Jedlička - integrace s EU - Debatní klub". YouTube.
- ↑ "Vít Jedlička: Schválení europrotektorátu (ESM) by byl vrchol" (in Czech). Reformy.cz. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ↑ "Citáty" (in Czech). Reformy.cz.
- ↑ "Press Release: A New State Has Been Declared - Liberland". Free Republic of Liberland (Press release). 13 April 2015. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015.