Pavla Topolánková

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Pavla Topolánková is a Czech politician. She was born in Bohumín, Czech Republic in May 7, 1955. She is the wife of Mirek Topolánek, the current Czech Prime Minister.

Pavla Topolánková is mother of Petra (1979), Jana (1983) and Tomáš (1992) and the grandmother of Karolína (2006).

She graduated from Brno University of Technology as a mechanical engineer with specialization on thermal treatment. She was a high school teacher and later personal assistant of her husband while he was a senator in the Czech Senate.^[1]. She strongly supported her husband in his 2003 bid for chairmanship of Civic Democratic Party and in Czech legislative election, 2006. She is also co-founder of Endowment fund Becario, aimed at promoting education. ^[2]

In Fall 2006, she surprisingly ran for Senate for Jana Bobošíková's party "Politika 21" in Ostrava district, against the incumbent candidate of Civic Democratic Party (and to a dismay of senior party officials, who suggested that she should rather support her husband in his effort to form a cabinet). She did not pass the first round and the Civic Democratic candidate lost the run-off ^[3].

Marriage of Pavla Topolánková and current Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has been popular topic for Czech media since parliamentary elections in June 2006. After Pavla Topolánková announced her candidacy for Senate in one of city of Ostrava's election districts (against Mirek Topolánek's party colleague), it has become obvious, that the marriage is in crisis. In January 2007 Mirek Topolánek publicly announced, that he lives with his mistress and party colleague Lucie Talmanová. ^[4]

In January 2007, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk praised Pavla Topolánková for striving to maintain her family and her willingness to forgive her husband. ^[5].