Billionaire Babiš officially appointed Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
Kyiv • UNN
Czech President Petr Pavel appointed Andrej Babiš as Prime Minister on December 9, 2025. Babiš returns to power after four years in opposition.
The President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, appointed Andrej Babiš, a billionaire and leader of the populist ANO party, as the country's prime minister, the office of the Czech president announced on Tuesday, UNN reports.
Details
"On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, the President of the Republic, Petr Pavel, appointed Andrej Babiš as Prime Minister in accordance with Article 68(2) of the Constitution of the Czech Republic," the statement reads.
The next step will be the formation of the government. When Babiš proposes the composition of the cabinet, the president's office should announce it.
Earlier, according to the office, Petr Pavel completed a series of consultations with candidates for ministerial positions in the government of the coalition of ANO, "Freedom and Direct Democracy"/SPD, and "Motorists" parties.
As Reuters notes, Babiš, whose ANO party won the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic on October 3-4, will take over leadership from the center-right government after the full cabinet is appointed, which is expected later this month.
Babiš, 71, returns to power after four years in opposition, during which he shifted from the liberal center to the European far-right, joining the Patriots for Europe in the European Parliament.
His cabinet, as Reuters writes, "will include the far-right, anti-European and pro-Russian SPD party and the 'Motorists' party, whose main agenda is to oppose EU climate policy."
Babiš promised to cut military aid to Ukraine from the state budget and stated that the new government could stop the Czech ammunition initiative, which procures large-caliber ammunition for Ukraine from around the world. Babiš, as Reuters writes, said that the scheme was opaque and overpriced, but did not take a clear position on the future of the project, which has strong presidential support.
Pavel appointed the new prime minister after Babiš said last week that he would transfer his main asset, Agrofert, a group of more than 200 companies in the chemical, food, agricultural, and other sectors, to a trust structure to resolve the conflict of interest he would have in office.