Dita Charanzová

Dita Charanzová (born 30 April 1975) is a Czech politician and diplomat who has been Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2014 for the ANO 2011 party.

Charanzová graduated from the University of Economics in Prague and later graduated from the Diplomatic School of Spain in Madrid. In 2001, she obtained a Ph.D. degree from the Faculty of International Relations at the University of Economics in Prague.

Charanzová worked in the diplomatic service of the Czech Republic for eight years, four of which she was posted in the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU. During the Czech Presidency of the EU, she chaired the Trade Policy Committee of the Council of the European Union. Between 2000 and 2001, she participated in an EU project which was focused on the reform of public governance in the Czech Republic. During the same two years, she also served as an OSCE election observer during the Kosovo elections.

In the past, she worked in Strasbourg as a TV Studio Manager during the sessions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

In 2014, Charanzová ran for the elections to the European Parliament as an independent (non-party) candidate on the 3rd place from the list of candidates for ANO 2011 and was elected with a total number of 8,356 preferential votes (i.e. 3.41% of total votes).

In 2018, she was elected Vice President of the ALDE Party.

In the European Parliament, Charanzová is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) political group. She is Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and she is an active substitute member of the Committee on International Trade (INTA).

In addition to her committee assignments, Charanzová serves as a member of the delegation for relations with the United States. She previously was part of four parliamentary delegations: Delegation for the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (Eurolat), Delegation for relations with Mercosur, Delegation for relations with the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (Cariforum), and the Delegation to the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee.

The main topics Charanzová deals with in the European Parliament are consumer protection, the digital economy and international trade. As a member of the IMCO Committee, she serves as rapporteur on web accessibility. She has actively worked on the negotiations of new business opportunities for Czech and European companies, for instance in the USA and Latin America, but also globally. In addition to her committee assignments, she is a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on the Digital Agenda.

In 2015, Charanzová and Fernando Maura Barandiarán nominated the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), a Venezuelan election coalition formed to unify the opposition to president Hugo Chávez, for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

In the 2019 elections, Charanzová was re-elected to the European Parliament for a second term, with a total number of 53 924 preferential votes (i.e. 10.73% of total votes). She has since been serving as one of the Parliament’s Vice-Presidents; in this capacity, she is part of the Parliament’s leadership under President David Sassoli.

• European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Member

In recognition of foreign policy activities, or more precisely, for promoting human rights, Charanzová was the first Czech MEP to win the MEP of the Year Award for 2016 in the category of foreign affairs in March 2016. She has been shortlisted as MEP of the Year in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection category in 2019.

In 2016, Charanzová received the "New Europe 100" Prize awarded to persons from Central and Eastern Europe who have made a significant contribution to the digital development of the region. She was the first Czech MEP to receive this award in the history of the prize.In 2017, Politico listed Charanzová as one of the 41 most influential MEPs. In the same year, Politico also ranked her among the top 20 women who shape Brussels, and she was placed in the same ranking in 2018 as well.In 2018, Czech Forbes ranked her within the top 10 in their list of the Top 100 most influential women.

Charanzová and her partner have two daughters, Sophie and Mia. She is fluent in Czech, English, French, Spanish and Russian.

Charanzová is the author of various publications that deal with European issues. These include:

• Charanzová, Dita. Surovinové strategie Evropské unie: globální a domácí výzvy.
• Charanzová, Dita. Salvador de Madariaga. Velcí Evropané.