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Petr Pavel (born 1 November 1961) is a Czech politician and retired military officer who is the fourth and current president of the Czech Republic since 2023. Prior to this, he held the position of Chairman 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 and joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1985. 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 hold the post. At NATO, he oversaw the Alliance's response and fallout of the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and the 2018 Turkish invasion of Afrin, as well as efforts to tackle rising Chinese influence. Pavel retired from the military after 44 years and was discharged with honors after his term expired.
In 2021, Pavel announced his presidential bid in the 2023 election. He ran on a platform of closer cooperation with NATO allies, support for Ukraine and greater involvement in the European Union. He embraced a hawkish stance on Russia and China. Pavel won the first round of the election with 35 percent and went on to win the runoff against former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš with 58 percent of the vote, to become the fourth president of the Czech Republic and 12th president since the Czechoslovak declaration of independence in 1918. Pavel was inaugurated on 9 March 2023, succeeding Miloš Zeman. He is the second president with a military background (after Ludvík Svoboda) and the first without political experience.
In his first hundred days in office, Pavel appointed three judges to the Constitutional Court and made 11 international trips, including a visit to Kyiv and Dnipro, becoming the first foreign head of state to travel to Eastern Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.
In 1985, after a two-year mandatory waiting period, Pavel joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, remaining a member until the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia in 1989. He later cooperated with such as Luboš Dobrovský and and referred to his membership in the Communist Party as a mistake, which he atoned for by serving the democracy.
In 1988, Pavel joined the military intelligence service and continued his studies at the Military Academy in Brno (later merged with the University of Defence) from 1988 to 1991. After the Velvet Revolution, he studied at Defense Intelligence College in Bethesda, Staff College in Camberley, Royal College of Defence Studies in London, and graduated from King's College London with a master's degree in international relations.
Pavel served in the 1st Czechoslovak Battalion of the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia. In January 1993, his unit was sent as part of the evacuation of Karin Base, a French military post under siege by troops. The French Army was unable to evacuate the base because the local infrastructure and bridge had been destroyed, and the unit from the combined Czech and Slovak Battalion (last Czechoslovak military unit) was sent to conduct the evacuation as they were stationed only 30 kilometres from Karin Base. Pavel went to the base with 29 soldiers and two OT-64 SKOT armoured personnel carriers. During the two-hour journey, his unit faced various obstacles that slowed down the operation, including fallen trees which soldiers had to remove from the road while under mortar fire. When the unit reached Karin Base, two French soldiers were already dead and several others wounded. Eventually, 55 French soldiers were evacuated from the base in armed transporters. (2025). 9788073624705, Alpress. ISBN 9788073624705
Pavel was recognized and decorated by both the Czech Republic and France for his conduct of the rescue.
From 1993 to 1994, Pavel was the deputy military attaché of the Czech Republic in Belgium. From 1997 to 1999, he served as the commander of 6th Special Brigade. From 1999 to 2002, he was the representative at the NATO headquarters in Brunssum. In 2003, he served as the National Military Representative at the United States Central Command at Operation Enduring Freedom headquarters in Tampa. During the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, he served as a liaison officer at the U.S. headquarters in Qatar. During this time, he warned that Iraq might use weapons of mass destruction against invading forces.
Pavel was appointed brigadier general in 2002. From 2002 to 2007, he served as the commander of the specialized forces, the deputy commander of the joint forces and the deputy director of the section of the Ministry of Defence. In the years 2007–2009, he was the military representative of the Czech Republic at the European Union in Brussels, and subsequently in the years 2010–2011 was the representative of the Czech Republic at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons. Pavel became major general in 2010 and lieutenant general in 2012. In 2011, he was a member of the expert commission that wrote the White Book on Defense, evaluating the state and proposing measures to improve the defense of the Czech Republic.
Pavel served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic from July 2011 to June 2012. On 1 June 2012, he was promoted to Chief of the General Staff. In this position, he organised cooperation between the army and academics and forums on defence and security issues.
At the end of his term of office in 2018, Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO to whom Pavel was an advisor, commended Pavel for leading the Military Committee with great distinction during a key period in NATO's history. He was awarded the Commander of the Legion of Merit for his work in the Military Committee.
In 2019, Pavel co-founded the association 'Pro bezpečnou budoucnost' ("For a safe future"), together with diplomat Petr Kolář, entrepreneur František Vrabel, and manager Radek Hokovský.
On 6 April 2020, Pavel launched the 'Spolu silnější' (Stronger Together) initiative, with the aim of helping people linked with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic, especially crowdfunding financial assistance for volunteers helping in hospitals and creating medical tools. The initiative also aimed to prepare the country for future crises.
Pavel gathered various experts in the initiative including head of the State Office for Nuclear Safety Dana Drábová, businessman Martin Hausenblas, president of the Czech Society of Emergency Medicine and Disaster Medicine Jana Šeblová, and former governor of the Olomouc Region Jan Březina. Pavel started travelling around Czech regions and gathering information about the fight against the epidemic from experts, authorities and institutions. Based on the initiative's findings, Pavel met Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to present him an anti-crisis plan created by the initiative.
Some political commentators such as Petr Holec and Ondřej Leinert linked the initiative to Pavel's potential presidential bid, noting similarities with Hillary Clinton's slogan during the 2016 United States presidential election.
On 29 June 2022, Pavel announced his intention to run in the 2023 Czech presidential election. He said he wanted to win the election so that the Czech Republic would not have to feel embarrassed by its president. Pavel launched his official campaign on 6 September 2022, saying he wanted to "return order and peace to the Czech Republic", running on a pro-Western, pro-European, and anti-populist platform, the views he advocated for throughout his senior military management career. On 4 October 2022, he was one of three candidates endorsed by the Spolu electoral alliance (the Civic Democratic Party, KDU-ČSL, and TOP 09).
The first round was held on 13 and 14 January 2023. Pavel received 1,975,056 votes (35.4%). He finished narrowly ahead of former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš, with whom he advanced to the second round. Pavel defeated Babiš in the second round on 28 January, receiving 58.32% of the vote (3,358,926 votes) to Babiš's 41.67%. On the same day, the president of Slovakia Zuzana Čaputová personally congratulated him on his victory in Prague. Pavel succeeded outgoing president Miloš Zeman on 9 March.
Pavel was planning to make his first foreign trips to Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine to reassure the Czech Republic's international commitments and express support for Ukraine against the 2022 Russian invasion. Polish president Andrzej Duda and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy were also the first foreign leaders he spoke to as president-elect. He also had a telephone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in the first days after the election to reaffirm the closer diplomatic relations between the Czech Republic and Taiwan, triggering criticism from China.
As president-elect, he attended the Munich Security Conference where he met French President Emmanuel Macron and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, among others. He then visited Karlovy Vary Region and Ústí nad Labem Region.
Pavel was inaugurated as president on 9 March 2023. In his inaugural address, he emphasized dignity, respect and decency, and stated that he would like to participate in the creation of a common vision for the Czech Republic. His first presidential trip led to Slovakia where he met President Zuzana Čaputová, Prime Minister Eduard Heger, and Speaker of National Council Boris Kollár.
During his first 100 days in office, Pavel worked to open Prague Castle to the public, improve communication and decision-making of the presidential office, and sought to mediate and find common ground on key domestic political issues between the government and the opposition. Since he took office, public trust in the president has risen by 20% to 58%, the highest in several years. Pavel appointed three judges to the Constitutional Court, and addressed sessions of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Political analysts have praised his symbolism and open communication with the public.
Pavel visited all neighboring countries (Slovakia, Poland, Germany and Austria) by June 2023. He proposed deepening co-operation between the Czech Republic and Germany, and made steps to improve relations between the Czech Republic and the Sudetendeutsche Landsmannschaft. His visit to Bavaria for the Bavarian-Czech Friendship Weeks in May 2023 on a motorcycle attracted considerable attention.
Pavel has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia, rallying for a continued united Western stance. In April 2023, he was the first foreign president to visit eastern Ukraine since the war began, offering Czech support in the reconstruction of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. In June 2023, in an interview for Radio Free Europe, Pavel spoke in favor of enhanced surveillance of all Russian citizens living in the West. When elaborating, he invoked the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II. His words were met with criticism from the Russian opposition and media. Pavel later clarified that he was talking about necessary security measures to prevent attacks like the 2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouses explosions and the spread of Russian propaganda, not surveillance on an individual level, and that he did not approve of the treatment of Japanese Americans. Following the initial interview, Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Russian State Duma, misrepresented Pavel's words and urged Russian diaspora to return to Russia if feasible, saying they were at risk of being sent to Internment.
In 2023, Pavel delivered speeches at, among others, the 4th Council of Europe Summit, the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, the Climate Ambition Summit, the UN Security Council and the European Parliament, calling for a fight against populism, for explaining to citizens the principles on which Europe stands, for resisting war fatigue and making no concessions to Russia. At the SDG Summit he presented a statement on behalf of the 46 member states of the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies. On 15 January 2024, Pavel visited Israel to express solidarity with the country during the Gaza war. There were protests in Prague against his visit to Israel. After meeting with Israeli politicians, Pavel said that he supports a two-state solution. He then visited Qatar, where he discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
On 6 February 2025, Pavel signed a bill that prohibits Russian nationals from obtaining Czech citizenship, even if they have lived in the Czech Republic for a long time, which critics say is discriminatory and contrary to European values.
On 21 May 2025, Pavel issued a presidential pardon halting the criminal prosecution of four members of the Czech Army's 601st Special Forces Group. The soldiers had been investigated in connection with the death of Afghans soldier Vahidullah Khan in 2018, following an insider attack at the Shindand Air Base in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of a Czech dog handler and injuries to two others. The charges, which included extortion and dereliction of duty, stemmed from allegations concerning the treatment of the captured Afghan suspect. Pavel justified the pardons by citing the extraordinary and complex wartime conditions, the non-violent nature of the alleged offences, and the protracted length of the investigation. The decision, endorsed by the Czech government, was a rare example of presidential clemency in military matters.
On 17 July 2025, Pavel signed a comprehensive amendment to the Czech Criminal Code that criminalizes the public promotion of Communism, placing it on legal par with Nazi propaganda. While the law passed with wide parliamentary support, it drew criticism from the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, which described it as a politically motivated attempt to silence opposition.
In 1987, in his biography, Pavel expressed understanding for the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops. He is said to have taken this view at the age of six from his father, Josef Pavel, who was at the time an officer in the Czechoslovak Army and a member of military intelligence. Pavel later apologized for the stance expressed in his biography and condemned the invasion.
Asked if he would have fought against the West in the event of a war before November 1989, Pavel said that "a soldier defends his country and the people who live in it.... every soldier fights for the people he likes and for whom it is worth sacrificing his life".
In 2015, Pavel called for a balanced and pragmatic approach to international security. Originally rejecting hawkish positions, he opposed immediate arms deliveries to Ukraine during the conflict with Russia, warning that such moves could escalate violence. Instead, he advocated for strengthening Ukraine's defense capacity over time and supported a broader NATO strategy that combined deterrence with diplomacy. Pavel also stressed the need for post-conflict planning in military interventions and highlighted the complexity of counterinsurgency operations, arguing that success requires not just military strength but also political and societal engagement. In later years, particularly following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Pavel adopted a more assertive stance, publicly supporting strong military aid to Ukraine and a firmer deterrent posture within NATO.
As Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in 2018, Pavel said of the Turkish invasion of Afrin: "Turkey is a target of terrorism and has the right to defend itself." He said it was necessary not to view the Kurds as a homogeneous group, and that some of them were effectively fighting Extremism.
During his presidency, Petr Pavel adopted a more assertive Czech foreign policy toward China, with a particular emphasis on deepening ties with Taiwan. Shortly after his election in 2023, he held a phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, becoming the first European head of state to do so. He described Taiwan as a democratic partner and expressed interest in closer cooperation. Although he affirmed respect for the One China, his actions reflected a more independent interpretation focused on shared democratic values. The call was sharply criticized by Beijing. Pavel’s position followed a precedent set by Czech Senate leaders Jaroslav Kubera and Miloš Vystrčil, the latter of whom visited Taiwan in 2020 and publicly affirmed support for Taiwanese sovereignty. As president, Pavel hosted Taiwanese officials, warned of Chinese cyber threats, and supported intelligence claims of attempted Chinese intimidation during official visits, signaling a cautious but firm stance toward Beijing.
In 2025, Pavel maintained the Czech Republic’s support for Israel as a state but drew a clear line between that support and the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. He criticized the Israeli leadership for lacking a broader political vision in Gaza Strip, warning that its military-heavy approach risked deepening the humanitarian crisis and further destabilizing the region. Pavel expressed concern over Netanyahu’s reliance on radical coalition partners, suggesting this alliance influenced Israel’s hardline policies. He called for an urgent resolution to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, stressed the need to ensure safe delivery of aid, and announced plans to initiate a national debate on the Czech position toward the conflict. His remarks stood out in the context of Czech politics, where strong support for Israel is the norm, though a few others, including Senate President Miloš Vystrčil, voiced similar unease over the scale of civilian suffering. Pavel expressed the belief that a negotiated two-state solution as the only sustainable resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In April 2023, he stated that it was in China's interest to prolong the Russo-Ukrainian War because "it can push Russia to a number of concessions."
Following accusations that the Czech Republic would be mobilized and directly involved in the war in Ukraine if he won the second round presidential election, Pavel stated: In May 2023, Pavel advocated for the donation of L-159 fighter jets to Ukraine. However, the Czech army kept the planes until it re-equippes itself with newer machines.
In an August 2024 interview with Darius Rochebin in Paris, Pavel repeatedly stressed that the Charter of the United Nations gives states the right of self-defence, and furthermore that this right is unconditional. His position was clear that the west should not limit Ukraine's ability to defend itself, technologically or geographically. Pavel said that the Czech ammunition coalition had supplied 500,000 shells to that date.
After his election as Chair of the NATO Military Committee in 2014, Pavel criticised political correctness, arguing that it creates an environment in which those in charge are told only what they want to hear. He said that during his tenure as Chair of the NATO Military Committee he saw many Chiefs of General Staff who were unable to call problems by their right name due to political correctness.
As president, Petr Pavel advocated for the Czech Republic to ratify the Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe treaty aimed at preventing and combating violence against women and domestic abuse.
Pavel is known to be an avid motorcyclist. In May 2024, he was hospitalized after suffering light injuries in an accident while riding his motorcycle. He also led the 2025 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix parade into Brno Circuit on his BMW F 900 GS, after which he took photos of the MotoGP riders during on-track sessions.
Pavel is also a longtime fan of the Dakar Rally, and has attended the race to support Czech competitors. He attended the 2025 Dakar Rally during a private trip to Saudi Arabia, following the event from a media vehicle and staying in the Bivouac shelter alongside racers. One of the participating race trucks, the Tatra FF7 of Tomáš Vrátný, was christened by Pavel during its unveiling at the 2024 Colours of Ostrava. Pavel also photographed the rally, and his pictures were put on display at the National Technical Museum in March as part of an exhibition titled In the Desert with a Finger on the Trigger. In April, he and Pavlová hosted an event at Lány Castle for Czech Dakar teams.
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