Hynek Kmoníček (born 22 October 1962) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

diplomat and the current Czech Republic Ambassador to the United States. Previously, Kmoníček served as foreign policy advisor of the President

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 2013. He previously served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Czec ...

, and held ambassadorial posts under all three post-Communist presidents of the Czech Republic, including as Czech

Permanent Representative to the United Nations A permanent representative to the United Nations (sometimes called a "UN ambassador")"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United Nations, March 2011, webpagUSUN-a. is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United Nati ...

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and subsequently as Ambassador to India and later Australia.

Early life and education

Kmoníček was born in

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...

, then

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. He graduated from the

University of South Bohemia A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, with a master's degree in classical guitar and pedagogy, and later earned degrees in English language studies and Classical Arabic studies from

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

. He also completed a post-graduate program in the modern history of the Middle East at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

(Young Jewish Leaders in Diaspora, Rothberg Overseas Program). At Hebrew University, his specialization was medieval

Islamic mysticism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

. His graduation thesis was entitled "Al-Miraj of Abu Yazid al-Bistami". His political science graduation paper was titled "Historical development of Saudi-American relations from the beginning to the

JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

era."

Career

Kmoníček started his diplomatic career in 1995 as a desk officer at the Middle East Department of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. He became director of this Department in 1997. In 1999, Kmoníček was promoted to the position of Director General of Asia, Africa and America. His next promotion came in June 1999, when he was named Deputy Minister, with responsibility for Czech bilateral relations with all non-EU countries. He held this position until 2001. From 2001 to 2006, Kmoníček served as Czech Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. As a member of the

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, Kmoníček served as Chairman of the Fifth Committee, which is responsible for administration and budgetary matters. Between 2006 and 2009, he was Czech Ambassador in India, also responsible for Bangladesh, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. In this role, Kmoníček lobbied the Czech government in favour of helping the Sri Lankan government during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, which included arms and the air bridge to

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

. In 2009, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal, Consular, and Current Political Issues. After his removal from the position of Deputy Foreign Minister in July 2010, Foreign Minister

Karel Schwarzenberg Prince Karel of Schwarzenberg (, born 10 December 1937) is a Czech politician, former leader of the TOP 09 party and was its candidate for president of the Czech Republic in the 2013 election. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies ( ...

nominated him for the post of Czech Ambassador in Australia, also responsible for New Zealand,

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Samoa. Schwarzenberg was reported to have commented that if possible, he would rather have sent Kmoníček to Mars. A longtime friend of President Milos Zeman, Kmoníček joined the Presidential Office on 28 March 2013 as Director of the Foreign Department with primary responsibility for the President's policy on foreign affairs. He is considered to be a key figure within the Zeman administration, advising the president on Middle Eastern, Asian and American affairs. In 2015, he was credited by the US Ambassador

Andrew Schapiro Andrew H. Schapiro (born April 25, 1963) is an American attorney and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic from September 30, 2014, to January 20, 2017. He was nominated by President Barack Obama March 6, 2014 and ...

as having resolved a diplomatic dispute between Schapiro and Zeman. As one of only a few

Czech Social Democratic Party The Czech Social Democratic Party ( cs, Česká strana sociálně demokratická, ČSSD, ) is a social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic. Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum and holding pro-European views, it is a m ...

members in the Presidential Office, he is considered to be an interlocutor between the prime minister, the foreign minister and the president. Since March 2017, Kmoníček has been serving as Czech Ambassador to the United States. He presented his credentials to President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

on 24 April 2017. He has also retained his post of foreign policy adviser to the Czech President. In 2015, a Czech scientist who discovered a new species of beetle named it after Kmoníček as a token of a gratitude for assistance he had provided as ambassador. Since 2015 he has been writing about foreign affairs for the Czech newspaper ''

MF Dnes MF or mf may refer to: Biology * Mossy fiber (disambiguation), in neuroscience * Mycosis fungoides, a type of skin disease * Myelofibrosis, a chronic clonal malignant disease * Microfibril rosettes, the sites of cellulose microfibril synthesis in ...

'' as an external contributor.

Personal life

Kmoníček's personal interests include cooking and collecting documentary movies, world music and hot sauces from around the world. He also writes reviews for art, culture and academic journals worldwide.http://www.mzv.cz/public/5b/13/d9/2319824_1687937_Ambassador_Kmonicek_CV.pdf In a profile in August 2018 for

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

, his house in Washington DC was shown to be decorated with trophies from various animals he had killed around the world as part of his diplomatic activities.

References