Vlastimil Válek

Vlastimil Válek (born 17 May 1960) is a Czech radiologist and politician, who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health from 17 December 2021 to 15 December 2025, in the cabinet of Petr Fiala. He has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic since 2017, representing TOP 09. In November 2025, he was replaced by Jiří Pospíšil.

Controversies Trips to Dubai In March 2024, Válek flew to Dubai several times to play golf. On one of these trips he was accompanied by Milan Sameš, the head of IT at Aricoma Group, which has won healthcare contracts worth at least tens of millions of crowns from the Czech Ministry of Health, state-owned hospitals, and other healthcare facilities during Válek's tenure as minister. Válek described Sameš as a longtime friend he has known for over 20 years, but said he was unaware of Sameš's profession. "We spend a few days together like this now and then, when we relax on the golf course", he said, explaining his foreign travels. "That's about it, there's nothing else behind it. When we go golfing together, we talk about golf, about wine and about shrimp, we certainly don't talk about work and business". Political commentator Zvěřina said the situation was "so stupid it's embarrassing", employing a phrase used by Eva Decroix during the 2025 Czech government Bitcoin scandal investigation.

Válek subsequently stated that he had paid for all his own travel to Dubai. He also confirmed that he used a diplomatic passport instead of a citizen's passport when travelling, even though diplomatic passports may only be used for diplomatic travel, which the trip to Dubai did not fulfill.

Personal life Válek is married and has four children. He lives in the Líšeň district of Brno. His interests include dulcimer music, choral singing, literature and Czech art.