Sharjah24 - AFP: War hero and motorcycle enthusiast retired general Petr Pavel won the Czech presidential election on Saturday.
Pavel beat billionaire former prime minister Andrej Babis to become the Czech Republic's fourth president since independence in 1993.
True to his military past, the 61-year-old has vowed to "restore order" in the EU and NATO member of 10.5 million people if elected.
"I can't ignore the fact that people here increasingly feel chaos, disorder and uncertainty. That the state has somehow ceased to function," Pavel said on his campaign website.
"We need to change this. We need to play by the rules, which will be valid for everyone alike. We need a general sweep," he added.
Sporting a carefully trimmed beard and white hair, Pavel rarely smiled during the campaign, but that did not deter voters.
"His indisputable advantage is that he looks very charismatic and representative, even when he's just standing and saying nothing," independent political analyst Jan Kubacek said .
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