Eva Pavlová (née Zelená; born 5 November 1964) is a Czech military officer who has been the first lady of the Czech Republic since March 2023 and the wife of President Petr Pavel. Pavlová also serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Czech Army reserve and as a member of the municipal assembly in her home municipality of Černouček.[1]

Eva Pavlová
First Lady of the Czech Republic
Assumed role
9 March 2023
PresidentPetr Pavel
Preceded byIvana Zemanová
Personal details
Born (1964-11-05) 5 November 1964 (age 59)
Šumperk, Czechoslovakia
Political partyCommunist Party (1985–1989)
Spouse
(m. 2004)
Children1
Alma materMilitary Political Academy [sk] (1986–1990)
Military service
AllegianceCzechoslovakia (1983–1992)
Czech Republic (1993–2018)
Branch/serviceCzech Army
Years of service1983–2018
RankLieutenant colonel

Biography edit

She graduated from grammar school and, as part of her sports activities, was mainly involved in shooting. After graduating in 1983,[2] she continued her studies at the Female Military Vocational School at the High Military Aviation School in Košice. In 1985, she decided to continue her military career[3] and signed up to study at the Military Political Academy in Bratislava[1] in a program intended for future communist political commissars.[4] She later stated that she was initially informed that she did not have a suitable "staff profile". She thus submitted an application to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.[3] She finished school in 1990.[2] At the beginning of the Velvet Revolution, on 20 November 1989, she resigned from the Communist Party. She then evaluated her membership in the party as a mistake.[3]

She then met Petr Pavel at the garrison dormitory in Prostějov. However, since they both had partners, their relationship did not begin until several years later. The wedding took place in 2004.[1] She later worked at the General Staff at time when Petr Pavel was Chief of Staff, being put in charge of communication with foreign military and aviation attachés to the Czech Republic. After leaving the army, she started working as an assistant in a Prague family mediation centre.[1] She lives with her husband in the village of Černouček.[5] She participated in the 2022 municipal elections as a non-party member of SNK Černouček 2022 and was elected as a member of the municipal assembly.

Family edit

She has a daughter (born 1992) from her previous marriage. Petr Pavel is the father of two sons (born 1990 and 1993) from his previous marriage.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Šmídová, Petra (10 January 2023). "Nerudová, Pavel, Babiš nebo Fischer: Čeho se (ne)vzdají jejich drahé polovičky". Vlasta.cz (in Czech). Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b Wasserbauerová, Terezie (15 December 2022). "Ještě mě můžou povolat, říká Pavlová. Pomohla by samoživitelkám, sama jí byla". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Stránský, Martin Jan. "Eva Pavlová: Chci zůstat sama sebou, nehrát roli, která mi není vlastní". Přítomnost (in Czech). Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  4. ^ Pšenička, Jiří. "Stigma první dámy: Archiv ukázal její cestu do KSČ, po dvou letech odešla". Seznam Zprávy (in Czech). Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  5. ^ Wasserbauerová, Terezie (7 January 2023). "S vnoučaty chodí na hřiště a rád zajde na jedno. Mezi sousedy je Pavel oblíbený". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  6. ^ Hrabě, Jan. "Eva Pavlová, Monika Babišová a Robert Neruda. Co víme o partnerech favoritů?". EuroZprávy.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 28 January 2023.
Honorary titles
Preceded by First Lady of the Czech Republic
2023–present
Incumbent