History of the Czech lands
The Czech history covering the period since the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Federative Republic on 31 December 1992 and of the founding of the Czech Republic on 1 January 1993.
For the story to 1918, see: History of Bohemia, Moravia history and history Moravian- Silesian For the history from 1918 to 1993 see: History of Czechoslovakia
Establishment of the Czech Republic 1993
After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, soon became apparent that the federal Czechoslovakia would have on life no longer exist. 1990 both constituent states led again own state symbols. Built in 1990, Slovakia is a separate Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1992 so that also followed the Czech part of the state. The conflict culminated in jokingly indent - called war dispute over the name of the Federation.
After the concept of a confederation had failed, declared on 17 July 1992, the Slovak Parliament - the Slovak National Council - the independence of Slovakia. The Prime Ministers of the two States Václav Klaus and Vladimír Meciar agreed against the will of the majority of the population, a division of Czechoslovakia into two sovereign states. On July 20, 1992 President Vaclav Havel resigned from his post. On November 25, 1992, the law was passed on the dissolution of the CSFR in the federal parliament.
On 16 December 1992, the Czech National Council (Česká národní rada ), the Parliament of the Czech part of the state, the new Constitution of the Czech Republic has adopted a " democratic state ". The Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, which was adopted in January 1991 by the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly, was taken over unchanged from the Czech Republic. Today's independent Czech Republic was proclaimed on 1 January 1993. The Czech National Council has renamed the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and voted on January 26, 1993 Vaclav Havel as the first president of the new republic. Václav Klaus formed a four-party government. The Czech crown was new currency.
1990s
On 30 June 1993 the newly independent Czech Republic joined the Euro Europe. 1994-1995, the country was a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. 1993, was re- signed the EU Association Agreement. An association agreement signed in 1991 already Czechoslovakia, the ratification process was interrupted following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. 1995 Czech Republic became an OECD member. On 31 May and 1 June 1996, the first elections were held for the House of Representatives. However, the ruling center - right coalition lost its majority. Klaus joined on 23 July 1996 with his second Cabinet, the Office of the Prime Minister again on. However, his government was forced to leave by the Social Democrats Miloš Zeman tolerate. In 1997, the economic growth phase ended in a bank crash, in the course had to file its 12 financial institutions insolvent. The fault was partly due to the integration of large industrial complexes that had been maintained artificially by bad loans. The Czech economy fell into recession.
On 21 January 1997, the Czech-German Declaration was signed and on April 24, President Havel gave a speech to the German Bundestag. In June of the same year as a result of the Oder river had 40,000 people to be evacuated, the total damage amounted to 2.5 billion euros. Prime Minister Václav Klaus resigned over a funding scandal on November 30, 1997. His successor was Joseph Tošovský. On 20 January 1998, Václav Havel was re-elected as president. In the election to the House on 28 June 1998, the social democratic CSSD won with Miloš Zeman (32%) and were able to form a government; they were from the opposition ODS tolerated ( the so-called "opposition agreement").
On 12 March 1999 the Czech Republic became a member of NATO, together with Poland and Hungary. In the Prague meeting of the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) and the World Bank was held on 25 September 2000, accompanied by riots and demonstrations.
The disputes over the appointment of the director of Czech Television Česká televise left in 2000 including the enmity between Václav Havel and Václav Klaus burst forth again. Klaus and the Civic Democratic Party ODS were accused of having maneuvered several of their followers in the top positions of the transmitter, including Jiří Hodač as director. This sparked the largest demonstrations in the Czech Republic from 1989. As a result Hodač resigned. Czech Republic got a new media law, any doubts about the independence of Česká televise were not eliminated by far.
The leading role of the CSSD was confirmed in the 2002 parliamentary elections, in particular, were able to gain the Communists. New prime minister was a Social Democrat Vladimír Špidla, formed a coalition government with the Christian Democratic KDU- CSL and the Unie svobody.
In August 2002, suffered from the Czech Republic, as well as other parts of Central Europe, with severe flooding. Had to be evacuated parts of Prague and other towns or villages and cultural heritage has been destroyed or damaged.
On 28 February 2003 Václav Klaus was elected the second President of the Czech Republic. 2004 Spidla issued after an election defeat in the European elections office to Stanislav Gross, who in 2005 but had his part to resign over a corruption scandal and was replaced by Jiří Paroubek.
Accession to the European Union
On 17 January 1996, the Czech government submitted the application for EU membership. The accession negotiations were launched in 1998 and the accession agreement was signed on 16 April 2003 in Athens by President Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla. Of the approximately 55.21 % of Czech voters participated in the referendum on the accession to the European Union, voted 77.33 % to a candidate. On 1 May 2004 the Czech Republic then with other Central and Eastern European countries joined the European Union ( see also: EU enlargement in 2004 ).
Presence
On 2 and 3 June 2006, the CSSD was defeated by the conservative ODS in elections to the House of Representatives, great losses also suffered the Communists ( KSČM ). The green Strana zelených (SZ ) skipped the first time the five-percent hurdle. The government formation was difficult because of a deadlock in the House between the two camps. It was not until the beginning of 2007 found the new blue-black- green coalition in Parliament the necessary support after two CSSD deputies announced that they would tolerate this. So the new government under Mirek Topolánek had no stable majority.
Since 21 December 2007 accounts for all border controls for the four neighboring countries of the Czech Republic due to the Schengen Agreement. On 1 January 2009 the Czech Republic took over under Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek for the first time the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Czech EU Presidency in 2009 was marked by the global financial crisis.
After several initiated by the CSSD votes of no confidence the government had on 24 March 2009 still eventually withdraw during the EU presidency. Klaus instructed the head of the Czech Statistical Office Jan Fischer with the formation of a transitional government that would lead the government business until the early elections in October 2009.
On 10 September 2009 the Constitutional Court ruled that the Constitutional Law for the implementation of early elections to the House of Representatives is unconstitutional. The law was, together with the announcement of the election annulled by the President. The providers in preparation election on October 9 and 10 was stopped with it. In a subsequently conducted constitutional amendment the House of Representatives was given the right to dissolve itself, which should have new elections result. However, an attempt to dissolve the House of Representatives shortly thereafter failed due to lack of support, especially from the CSSD. It was not until end of May 2010 were the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic will be carried out in 2010. On July 13, 2010 by a coalition of the bourgeois- conservative parties ODS and TOP 09 as well as the strengthened by the election party veci veřejné Petr Necas, the government formed. The Greens and the KDU- CSL failed due to the five-percent hurdle .. In April 2012, decided veci veřejné after hard internal party disputes from the government resign, but wanted some MPs and the Prime Minister in charge of the party join not this step and came out of turn the party out. They joined together to party LIDEM and so secured the government majority.
After both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Parliament have been in favor of this innovation, the presidential election in 2013 was a direct election for the first time. Miloš Zeman won in the runoff election against Karel Schwarzenberg. On June 17 2013 Petr Necas has occurred after the arrest of his office manager back because of corruption and abuse of office allegations. Zeman installed a government under Jiří Rusnok. After the snap elections in 2013 could make with ANO 2011 and the KDU- CSL despite fired by Zeman internal disputes in the CSSD Bohuslav Sobotka a new government, which Zeman sworn in on 29 January 2014.