Education
He studied chemistry at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague.
He studied chemistry at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague.
His most notable position there was at the Ministry of Defense where he was responsible for the budget and acquisitions (1993 - 1998). The 2006 parliamentary election resulted in a situation where no party or coalition of parties was able to form a viable government. Over a period of many months a number of alternatives were negotiated with no result.
On 24 August 2006 Kalousek unexpectedly accepted an offer from Jiří Paroubek to start negotiations on a minority government of KDU-ČSL and the Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) which would be tolerated by the Communists.
The presidium of the party expressed no objections. Such negotiations were in conflict with the pre-election promises and the vocal anti-communist stance of the party and its electorate.
The party group in Brno (the biggest regional organisation) refused the negotiated solution and asked for the resignation of Kalousek and of the whole presidium of KDU-ČSL. Other organisations made similar demands. On the evening of the same day the country-wide committee of KDU-ČSL refused the proposal by an overwhelming majority and Kalousek resigned.
He has claimed his negotiation with Jiří Paroubek was part of a plan to bring down the government coalition of ČSSD and the Civic Democratic Party (Obcanská demokratická strana (Civic Democratic Party)) which otherwise seemed to be the most likely scenario.
This party celebrated success in the 2010 parliamentary election and until July 2013 was one of the three parties governing the Czechoslovakian Republic as part of the centre-right "coalition of fiscal responsibility".
That goal was in fact achieved when Obcanská demokratická strana (Civic Democratic Party) refused to participate in a "grand coalition" and created its own government with minority support in the Parliament. In 2009, after a supposed drift of KDU-ČSL to the political left, Kalousek left the party altogether, and with several former KDU-ČSL colleagues created a new party called TOP 09.
7th Czechoslovakian Legislature]
He has been member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czechoslovakian Republic since 20 June 1998. On 25 August 2006 mass protests by KDU-ČSL members, regional organisations and members of parliament went public. Some members of parliament declared that they wouldn"t support such a government.