Michal Lobkowicz - the youngest Czech defence minister

Today's guest on "One on One" is Michal Lobkowicz, who in 1998 served as the Czech Republic's youngest defence minister ever. If you had to pick the most impressive aspect of Mr Lobkowicz's biography, it would perhaps be the fact that he rose to public office at such a young age. During the Velvet Revolution he was 25 and a member of Civic Forum, and in 1990 he was elected to the Czech parliament. It was in 1998, at the age of 34, that he became defence minister in the interim government of Josef Tosovsky, a government that lasted for just over six months. During his ministerial term, he left the Christian Democrats and established a new party, the Freedom Union. I began our interview by asking Mr Lobkowicz what he thought his major achievements were as defence minister.

Michal Lobkowicz - the youngest Czech defence minister

Michal Lobkowicz

"Well, I had a couple of goals that I wanted to achieve. One was to bring transparency to all the tenders that were going on in the ministry. There was a lot of suspicion at the time that the economic processes in the ministry were not transparent, that there was corruption and that the ministry was hiding things. So I tried - and I think in a way, at least partly we were successful in making all the processes more transparent and in setting the rules which would prevent those suspicions. So that was one thing. The second thing was to try and open up the army to the public a little bit. Because the army was really - and still is, in all countries, so it's a permanent task - behind its walls, and it's hiding things, and everything is secret and so on. So we were trying to open it up to the public, and I think again we were partly successful. And third there was a big problem in human resources, in personnel management. And I think again we were partly successful. President Havel nominated the chief of staff - General Sedivy - at the time; I think he was the right person and he is the right person at the top of the pyramid. And below him there are I think a lot of young and motivated people who are really leading the army in the right direction. And of course joining NATO - this was the most visible task and the most important thing that we were dealing with at the time."

And as I said earlier you were the youngest defence minister ever in this country. Did your age ever pose any problems when you were dealing with, let's say, some of the older elite in the Czech military and in the Czech political establishment?

"Sure. Of course it's not easy to be a minister - and especially to be a defence minister - when you are thirty-four. So of course for some people it might have been - and was - a problem. On the other hand, the military is - and it's good -used to the principle of subsidiarity, the army is used to obeying. And most of them simply accepted it, that on top of the pyramid there was someone really young. But of course it was unusual, I would say; in other countries, it's not very usual that people this young become ministers. But I must say that there are also other examples: sometimes it happens even in western countries that people of this age become ministers, but it's not very usual. And I say, of course it was not easy. And I must say I was rather happy that the period was so short. I don't think that I would have survived more than the six months that I was in the post."

In January 1998 you were part of an anti-Klaus faction that left the Civic Democrats and went on to form the Freedom Union. What were your reasons for this at the time?

"That's a long time ago! Well, the reasons were quite clear: the Civic Democratic Party was unable at the time to explain the lack of transparency regarding its financial sources. And, by the way, they never explained it. And we didn't want to be part of that. I think it was part of the general process of making Czech politics more clean, more transparent, and I think now we are much further than we were at the time. And it's again a continuous struggle for greater transparency and for politics to be clean. I think it's important, I think it's not only important in this country, but in the West. And I think that all the financial scandals that we see from time to time do not help democracy, and they do not help business, furthermore. Because it really doesn't help the free market mechanisms. So I think we have to fight it. And I would do it again!"

And what's your opinion on Vaclav Klaus these days?

"I think his period is over. And it's just a question of time when he will leave Czech politics or how he will leave Czech politics. And, as I say, I think his time is over."

Your family, the Lobkowiczes, has aristocratic roots. Czechoslovakia abolished aristocratic titles in 1918. But do you think that your blue blood still opens up doors?

"Sometimes, sometimes not. Sometimes it is an advantage, sometimes it is a disadvantage, and it always used to be like that. Everybody remembers me, always. When I was a schoolchild and I broke a window, everybody knew it was me and it was a good story. Unlike my friends - nobody noticed that it was any of them. So this is of course a disadvantage, and sometimes it is an advantage. If you want someone to remember you, then it is an advantage. If you don't want that, then it is a disadvantage."

After the fall of communism, a lot of the property that was taken from your family by the Nazis first and then the Communists was restituted. What are some of the treasures that the Lobkowiczes got back?

"Well, I must say that it's not me who has received the properties. My part of the family has not received anything. But the other part of the family has gotten back some land, a couple of castles, some forests and so on. The problem of that is that it is in very bad shape, so it's tough work. And I must say that I am rather happy that I am not involved with that, because I see my relatives, my cousins, who are trying to take care of it and trying to restore the buildings, and it's a nightmare."

As you said, there are many different branches of the Lobkowicz family, and there are many prominent Lobkowiczes in Czech society, including in Czech politics. Do people ever confuse you, let's say, with the other Lobkowicz politicians such as Jar Lobkowicz and Jiri Lobkowicz?

"Sometimes it's confusing for people, and I'm always trying to explain that I am Michael Lobkowicz, Michal Lobkowicz, and that my opinions are my opinions and that we might have different opinions among us. So of course we have to explain it, but we are not so far from each other, so it doesn't create a big problem. But of course people sometimes get confused."

You left your career in politics earlier this year for one in business. Having already achieved so much so far, what are your ambitions for the future?

"Well, I would probably not agree with that that I have achieved so much. I think I have just been in a certain position at a certain time, which might be unusual or maybe even strange, but such was the period, such was the situation in this country... Well, I started my own business. At a certain point I had a feeling that I had to change my life, that I couldn't go on like that. I had been in Czech politics for ten years and I had achieved certain - I would say - personal limits, maybe rather than goals. And that I didn't bring much to the job I did anymore and the job didn't bring much to me. Now I want to make my living with something completely different, and I want to be successful at that. But first of all I want to be happy. I want to enjoy my job. And I want to be very much independent. When you are in politics you are quite dependent on a lot of other things, so I now want to be more independent and I want to decide much more about what I do myself."

Could you see yourself returning to politics at some point?

"Not now. I think that it would be really strange after having left it this year to threaten the citizens or to say "I will come back again!" No, not in the near future."

Mr Lobkowicz, thankyou very much.

"You're welcome."