Jiří Ovčáček

Jiří Ovčáček (born 13 January 1979) is a Czech journalist and news columnist. He previously worked as the spokesman for Miloš Zeman during Zeman's presidency.

Early life
Ovčáček was born on 13 January 1979. He studied at the Archbishop's High School in Prague, but dropped out at the age of 16 after dying his hair green in a protest against the school environment. Ovčáček graduated from the Ecological Gymnasium.

Early career
In February 2015, a user named GhostBuster on Echo24 that Ovčáček wrote 443 articles in two years between 2002 and 2004, during his tenure as an editor of Haló noviny, which reflected his fascination with communism.

Government Office of the Czech Republic
Ovčáček worked in the press department of the Government Office of the Czech Republic during Jiří Paroubek's tenure as prime minister. Ovčáček served as the deputy director of the department and became Paroubek's press spokesman, but was dismissed in 2007 after Paroubek lost trust in him. In his book Plnou parou v politice (lit. 'Full steam in politics'), Paroubek accused Ovčáček of slandering him in the tabloid media.

Other commentators criticised Ovčáček's journalism over his alleged bias, extending to expressions of personal revenge. During the 2013 Czech presidential election, Deník Referendum editor Patrik Eichler accused Ovčáček of bias against Jiří Dienstbier Jr. as a ČSSD candidate.

Spokesman for Miloš Zeman
Ovčáček was appointed press spokesman for Miloš Zeman in December 2013, replacing Hana Burianová, who initially remained in the position of director of the press department of the presidential office. In May 2014, Ovčáček replaced her in this position.

In 2015, Ovčáček was involved in the "Hitler is a Gentleman" case, in which he and Zeman made negative statements about Czechoslovak journalist Ferdinand Peroutka.

Later career
When Petr Pavel took office as president of the Czech Republic in early 2023, Ovčáček resigned as presidential spokesperson and was replaced by Markéta Řeháková. In April 2023, he started working as an editor and commentator for the social website Život v Česku.

Criticism
Ovčáček has been the subject of criticism for his methods. In September 2021, executive board member of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), Patrik Schober, stated that he would dismiss him. According to Schober, Ovčáček's average salary of 106,000 CZK in 2020 corresponded to the position of an experienced director of communications in the commercial sphere, while Ovčáček "lies, divides society and deliberately labels."

Personal life
In 2018 he converted from the Czechoslovak Hussite Church to Roman Catholicism. Ovčáček has been married to a Ukrainian woman since November 2022. The couple met when he took her in as a refugee from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On 16 December 2021, Ovčáček was taken to the detention station after he took a taxi costing CZK 350 to Dělnická Street in Holešovice, refused to pay, and fell asleep drunk. Ovčáček later apologised for his behavior, citing "various dramatic circumstances surrounding the formation of the government" as the reason.