Martin Bursík is a Czech

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. Bursík has twice served as Minister of Environment and is also former chairman of the Green Party

Green Party (Czech Republic)

The Green Party is a political party in the Czech Republic.The party was founded in February 1990 but for a long time it struggled to obtain significant influence in Czech politics. In the 2002 legislative election the party received 2.4% of the vote...

.

Early life and education

In the 1980s, Bursík studied environmental engineering

Environmental engineering

Environmental engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to improve the natural environment , to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate polluted sites...

 at the Charles University. In June 1989, he joined the dissident movement and signed the declaration of the anti-communist movement. During the Velvet Revolution

Velvet Revolution

The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...

 in November of that year, he was one of the founders of the Civic Forum

Civic Forum

The Civic Forum was a political movement in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989...

.

The Civic Movement

Party for the Open Society

The Party for the Open Society is a tiny social liberal political party in the Czech Republic....

, which emerged out of the Civic Forum and would later became the Party for the Open Society, nominated him as vice-chairman and he was elected into parliament. After the breakup of the Civic Movement, Bursík switched to the Free Democrats. He served as the Minister of the Environment

Minister of the environment

An environment minister is a cabinet position in charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation...

 under Josef Tošovský

Josef Tošovský

Josef Tošovský is a Czech economist and was governor of Czech National Bank from 1993 to 2000. From 16 December 1997 to 17 July 1998 he was the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic in a caretaker government.Tošovský graduated from the University of Economics, Prague...

 for a few months in 1998.

Bursík unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 and joined the Christian Democrats but left this party in 2003.

He joined the Greens in June 2004 and was elected party chairman. After 2006 parliament election

Czech legislative election, 2006

Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 2 and 3 June 2006.The pre-election campaign was fierce and mostly negative. A major scandal broke out few days before the election. The two largest parties had profited from the divisive campaign – both had obtained the highest percentage...

 he became a member

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 of the Chamber of Deputies

Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic

The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Chamber of Deputies is situated in palaces in Malá Strana, Prague....

 and was also appointed Minister of Environment in the second cabinet

Mirek Topolánek's Second Cabinet

The Government of the Czech Republic since January 9, 2007 was formed by a coalition of the victorious Civic Democratic Party with the small Christian and Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party and the Green Party...

 of Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek

Mirek Topolánek

Mirek Topolánek is a former prime minister of the Czech Republic and former President of the European Council. A member of the Civic Democratic Party, he was chairman of the center-right party between November 2002 and March 2010, succeeding Václav Klaus, who was elected President in 2003.On 24...

.

Climate change

Climate change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...

 was his priority as Minister of Environment.

He is currently a professor at New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

in Prague.