Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has earned approximately 1 million Czech crowns (€40,000) since October 2021 from his part-time position at Masaryk University (MU) in Brno, according to information published by the investigative outlet Page Not Found on Tuesday — although it isn’t clear when he’s had time to do the work.
As reported by Echo24, the income covers the period since the start of the current parliamentary term, when Fiala retained academic duties despite leading the government.
Until December 2021, Fiala was officially employed full-time at the university. After his cabinet was appointed by then-President Miloš Zeman, he reduced his contract to one-fifth of a full-time workload. Under this arrangement, he is expected to work around eight hours per week.
Government spokesperson Lucie Michut Ješátková defended the arrangement, saying the prime minister continues to support the Department of International Relations and European Studies, particularly in doctoral supervision and conceptual development. While she noted that he previously gave lectures, she did not specify when he stopped teaching actively.
“Given that the prime minister is used to working far beyond the usual standards, he manages his duties there, often in the evenings and weekends,” she said. However, neither the university nor the government clarified how this workload fits into Fiala’s schedule as head of the Czech government.
According to Veronika Velička Zapletalová, Vice-Dean for Communication at the Faculty of Social Studies, Fiala’s current role includes supervising PhD students, participating in faculty and university scientific councils, and continuing with academic publishing. “These activities correspond to his working hours at our workplace,” she said.
Fiala has longstanding ties to the university. He was instrumental in founding the Faculty of Social Studies and briefly served as its dean in 2004 before becoming rector of Masaryk University. He held that position until 2011.
Fiala is not the only senior official in his government to maintain an academic role. In 2022, Mladá fronta Dnes reported that then-Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek (now Minister of Culture) and Minister of Health Vlastimil Válek also kept university affiliations after taking office.
Government spokesperson Václav Smolka acknowledged the symbolic and personal importance of academia for Fiala but conceded that regular teaching duties were not realistically compatible with his position as prime minister.
Masaryk University and the Prime Minister’s Office have not indicated any plans to change or suspend the arrangement.
