Prof. Rom Kostřica, Czech ENT specialist and former TOP 09 MP, dies at 77

Professor Rom Kostřica, a leading Czech otorhinolaryngologist, died on 1 August at the age of 77. He headed the Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology and Head‑and‑Neck Surgery at the Faculty Hospital of St. Anna in Brno and served as a professor at Masaryk University’s Faculty of Medicine. Kostřica was also a prominent figure in the Czech medical community, having chaired the Czech Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head‑and‑Neck Surgery.

From 2010 to 2017 he was a member of the Chamber of Deputies for the TOP 09 party, leading the party’s South‑Moravian candidate list in the 2013 early elections. In parliament he worked on education and foreign affairs committees and advocated for public‑health measures such as bans on smoking in outdoor restaurant areas and in cars carrying children, as well as defending vaccination programs. His funeral is scheduled for 8 August at the Church of St. Augustine in Brno.