He was widely regarded as having pursued favourable policies towards Russia and China, while frequently clashing with traditional allies in the European Union and NATO.

In 1992, he ran successfully for the House of the People of the Federal Assembly, already as a member of the Czechoslovak Social Democracy (ČSSD), which he joined the same year.

The success of ČSSD in the 1996 legislative election allowed him to prevent his rival Václav Klaus and his Civic Democratic Party (ODS) from forming a majority government.

Zeman, ignoring the political balance of power in the Czech Parliament, appointed his friend and long-term ally Jiří Rusnok as Prime Minister, and tasked him with forming a new government.

However, it subsequently emerged that Hašek and his allies had attended a secret post-election meeting with Zeman, where they were rumoured to have negotiated a 'coup' in ČSSD.

However, his allies (deputies Milan Chovanec, Zdeněk Škromach, Jeroným Tejc, and Jiří Zimola) later admitted that the meeting took place.

Speaking on a radio show he said that, "The moment Russia decides to widen its territorial expansion to the eastern part of Ukraine, that is where the fun ends.

There I would plead not only for the strictest EU sanctions, but even for military readiness of the North Atlantic Alliance, like for example NATO forces entering Ukrainian territory."

In the Czech constitutional system it is the government that has the main responsibility for foreign policy, although the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Protesters argued that Zeman had betrayed the legacy of Václav Havel, who helped Czechoslovakia and then Czech Republic become a champion of human rights, by being too sympathetic to authoritarian regimes and too close to Russia and China.

[37] On 9 March 2017, during a meeting with his supporters, Zeman announced his intention to run again for the presidency,[38] confirming his decision the next day in a press conference.

[52] On 10 October 2021, the day after the 2021 Czech legislative election, Zeman was hospitalized, throwing the timeline for the start of government formation talks into doubt.

[62] Zeman was considered a centre-left politician during his premiership and term as leader of the Social Democrats, but as president he began to be associated with far-right anti-immigration policies in response to the European migrant crisis.

Police also entered a building of the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) to remove a Tibetan flag which had been hung out of a window.

[82][83] CEFC China Energy acquired multiple assets in the Czech Republic, including travel agencies and media companies.

[63][88] Before becoming president, he promised to fly the flag of Europe at Prague Castle,[89] something that Zeman's predecessor, Václav Klaus, refused to do; he did so shortly after taking office.

[88][90][91] On the same day, Zeman ratified the Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism, which Klaus had also refused to do, making the Czech Republic the last country to do so.

[96] When the environmental movement Hnutí DUHA tried to protect a national park from illegal logging, Zeman said he would treat them in a "good old medieval way: burn them, piss on them and salt them".

In June 2015, Zeman commented that: "If European countries accept a wave of migrants, there will be terrorist groups among them, of which also a Libyan minister has warned.

[112] In September 2015, Zeman rejected the European Union's proposal of compulsory migrant quotas, saying, "Only the future will show that this was a big mistake".

[6][5] On 1 March 2022, eight former signatories of Charter 77 including Petr Pithart and Anna Šabatová called on Zeman to resign over his previous support for Putin.

Novotný allegedly pressured him to falsify evidence in order to prove that former Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec corrupted journalists.

While Zeman was prime minister, Šlouf maintained contact with the controversial entrepreneur František Mrázek, nicknamed the "Godfather of Czech Organized Crime".

[140] Zeman stated that "the Czechs and Slovaks were doing the Sudeten Germans a favor by expelling them, because they granted them their wish to go Heim ins Reich".

"[143] On 26 May 2014, during festivities celebrating the independence of Israel, Zeman said "So let me quote one of their [Islamic] sacred texts to support this statement: "A tree says, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.

"[146] Zeman's comments on the Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting and "Islamic ideology" in June 2014 caused a diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia.

"[147] On 17 November 2014, the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, thousands of Czechs took part in a demonstration against Zeman, protesting his pro-Russian stance and vulgar language.

[149] In September 2017 Zeman suggested that Bosnia and Herzegovina could become a base for Islamic State, causing a diplomatic row and provoking criticism from President Bakir Izetbegović and the Bosniak public.

[155] On 2 March 2016, The Prague 1 District Court ruled that Zeman had falsely accused well-known journalist Ferdinand Peroutka of comments that appeared to be positive about Adolf Hitler.

[160] On 1 April 2024, Supreme Court of the Czech Republic ruled that Zeman in November 2017 had falsely informed about his former adviser Zdeňek Šarapatka of being fired for incompetence and was ordered to apologise.