JUDr. Pavel Rychetský was born into the family of a Prague attorney on 17 August 1943. From 1961 to 1966 he took a law course at the Faculty of Law, Charles University, Prague. He graduated in 1966 and passed both his doctoral and judicial examinations in 1967. In 1966 he began his legal career as a trainee judge with the Municipal Court of Justice in Prague. However, a criminal prosecution was started against him in connection with his protests against political processes involving participants in the May Celebrations and he was forced to leave the court and retreat to the Department of Civil Law in the Faculty of Law, Charles University, Prague, where he lectured in material civil law as an assistant professor. After the occupation of Czechoslovakia he also had to leave the Faculty of Law. Following several months of unemployment, he worked as company lawyer until the end of 1989.
       In the years of “normalisation” Pavel Rychetský joined civil resistance activities against the totalitarian regime, co-founded and became one of the first signatories of Charter 77, and published articles in the foreign journals “Listy” and “Svìdectví” and in the Czech samizdat. He was a member of the Civic Forum from its foundation and of its Council of the Republic. On 8 January 1990 he was appointed the General Prosecutor of the Czech Republic.
       From June 1990 to July 1992 he was Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic and Chairman of the Legislative Council of the same, authorised to direct the legislative activities of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic and to coordinate collaboration between the Government of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic and the Federal Assembly and Governments of the Czech and Slovak Republics. As Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Government he submitted a number of constitutional acts to the Federal Assembly (such as the Act on the Constitutional Court, the Act on the Referendum, the Act on Return of Property of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia to the People of Czechoslovakia, Restitution Acts, etc.). From 1992 he was active as an attorney and as a lecturer in political science at the Faculty of International Relations in the Prague College of Economics. He published a number of professional and popular articles and essays in both the national and international press.
      From 1996 to 2003 he was Senator for Constituency No. 12 (Strakonice). Before his appointment as Deputy Prime Minister of the Government he was Chairman of the Constitutional Legal Committee of the Senate of the Czech Parliament, a member of the Mandate and Immunity Committee and of the Organisational Committee.
      From July 1998 he was Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Czech Republic and President of the Legislative Council of the Government, the Council of the Government of the Czech Republic for National Minorities, the Council of the Government of the Czech Republic for Romany Community Affairs and the Council of the Government of the Czech Republic for Research and Development.
      From 15 July 2002 to 5 August 2003 he was Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Czech Republic, Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Legislative Council of the Government.
      On 16 July 2003 the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic approved his appointment as a Judge of the Constitutional Court and on 6 August the President of the Republic appointed him a Judge and President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic.
       From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the Union of Czech Lawyers, and between 1992 and 1998 he was President of the Board of Trustees of the Pro Bohemia Foundation. In 1996 he founded the Fund for Citizens of Prácheòsko focusing on social issues in the region.
       On 19th July, 2005, the President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, Mr. JUDr. Pavel Rychetský, was awarded the Légion d´Honeur, Oficier Class´s Order by the President of the French Republic, M. Jacques Chirac.
       He is married and has three grown-up children.