Josef Zieleniec (born 28 May 1946) is a Czech politician and former Member of the European Parliament.

Apart from research in microeconomic theory, he worked on the problems of economic transition from a centrally planned to market economy.

The study "Czechoslovakia at the crossroads", based on his research, had a significant impact on the discussions about economic reforms after 1989.

[citation needed] At the beginning of 1990 Zieleniec co-founded the Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education, the first American-style economics doctoral program in Central and Eastern Europe, at Charles University in Prague.

He became its first director, and was also appointed senior lecturer in economics and joined the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University.