Andrej Babiš
Updated: Wikipedia source
Andrej Babiš (Czech: [ˈandrɛj ˈbabɪʃ]; born 2 September 1954) is a Czech politician and businessman who is the prime minister of the Czech Republic since 2025, having previously served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021. Prior to that, he was the minister of finance and deputy prime minister from 2014 to 2017. A right-wing populist, Babiš has led the ANO 2011 political party since he founded it in 2012. Born in Bratislava, Babiš moved to the Czech Republic in the early 1990s. During a lengthy business career, he became one of the wealthiest individuals in the Czech Republic, with an estimated net worth of about $4.04 billion according to Bloomberg in November 2020. In February 2024, Forbes estimated his net worth to be approximately $3.5 billion. Babiš made most of his fortune as the founder and owner of Agrofert, one of the country's largest holding companies. On 6 December 2017, Babiš was appointed prime minister of the Czech Republic, after ANO won the largest share of the vote in the 2017 Czech legislative election. When he took office, he was the oldest and wealthiest person ever to become Czech prime minister, as well as the first from a party other than the Civic Democratic Party or the Social Democratic Party. Additionally, Babiš was also the first prime minister born outside the Czech Republic, the first to hold dual citizenship, and the first whose native language is not Czech. Babiš's political allies during his time as prime minister were President Miloš Zeman, the Czech Social Democratic Party, and the Communist Party. His administration raised the retirement age and reduced pensions, while increasing child tax credits and the salaries of senior politicians. Major political events of his term include the expulsion of over 80 Russian diplomats and resident spies following the disclosure of Russian involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice explosions, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which killed around 35,000 people in the Czech Republic, triggering criticism of the government's response. His time in office was also marked by legal disputes with the European Commission due to accusations of conflict of interest and allegations of EU subsidy fraud. Babiš was succeeded as prime minister by Petr Fiala on 17 December 2021, following the 2021 election. Babiš was a candidate in the 2023 Czech presidential election and lost in the second round to Petr Pavel. He led his ANO movement into the 2025 election as its nominee for prime minister, in which the party placed first with 34.5% of the votes. On 27 October 2025, he was formally tasked by President Pavel to form a government. After forming a coalition government with SPD and a new right-wing party Motorists for Themselves (AUTO), Babiš was appointed prime minister on 9 December. Following allegations that an anonymous company he controlled unlawfully received a €2M subsidy from the European Regional Development Fund, Babiš was investigated by both the Czech police and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) from 2015 to 2017. He was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and formally charged on 9 October 2017. He was acquitted of the charges in January 2023, but the verdict was overturned and remanded in November 2023. Babiš has received sustained criticism over a number of issues, including alleged conflicts of interest, his past role in the StB, and allegations of intimidating political opponents. Babiš remains one of the most popular and divisive politicians in the Czech Republic.