Minister of Culture

MUDr. Jiří Besser

Tel:257 085 203
Tel: 224 321 267
Fax: 224 323 303

Jiří Besser was born on August 4^th, 1957 in Beroun. He studied at the Beroun Grammar School and graduated with a degree in dentistry from the Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Prague.

In November 1994 he was elected mayor of his home town of Beroun and he held the office for four terms, in total nearly for 16 years.

In 2002, Beroun was affected by a devastating flood. In reaction to this, Jiří Besser not only installed one of the most efficient flood protection systems in the Czech Republic, but he also succeeded in focusing on the conservation of the cultural heritage of Beroun. His effort was rewarded when Beroun was titled the Historical Town of the year 2009 by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry for Regional Development and the Association of Historical Settlements in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia.

The town of Beroun honours a number of renowned personalities of the Czech culture such as Josef Jungman, Jan Preisler, Václav Talich, František Branislav, Ota Pavel and František Nepil. Among the popular cultural events held in the town are the music festival Talich´s Beroun, the annual award giving ceremony for audiovisual art “Trilobit Beroun”, the Beroun Museum Night dedicated to cultural heritage and traditions, the Beroun Carnival, the historical festival “Beroun Town Walls” and the Royal Procession from Prague to Karlštejn Castle.

In the 2010 election, Jiří Besser was, as an independent candidate of TOP 09, elected Member of Parliament in the Chamber of Deputies and on July 13^th, 2010, he was appointed Minister of Culture by the President of the Czech Republic.

Jiří Besser has two sons and in his leisure time he enjoys sports and culture.