Marek Hilšer


Marek Hilšer is a Czech political activist and university lecturer. He stood to become Czech president in the 2018 presidential election, but finished fifth in the first round, failing to advance.

Biography

Hilšer was born in Chomutov in 1976. His family emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1989 but returned in 1990. He studied Public Relations at Charles University and went to United States in 1999, where he had jobs including working as a plumber and digger. He returned to the Czech Republic in 2004 and studied Medicine at Charles University. In 2007, he became a scientist at the First Faculty of Medicine at Charles University.
In 2008, Hilšer led protests against plans by Minister of Health Tomáš Julínek to turn teaching hospitals into joint-stock companies. Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek later announced the plans would not be implemented.
Hilšer also led protests against university reforms by Minister of Education Josef Dobeš in 2012, known as "a week of unrest".
Hilšer announced his candidacy for Czech president on 27 July 2016. He finished fifth of the nine candidates, with 8.83% of the vote. Hilšer then endorsed Jiří Drahoš for the second round.