Ivo Žďárek (6 November 1960 – 20 September 2008) was 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 *Czech (surnam ...

diplomat. He died in the fire in the aftermath of the Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing trying to rescue people from the burning building.

Early life

He studied at the

Moscow State Institute of International Relations Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) (, also known as MGIMO University) is an higher education, institute of higher education located in Moscow, Russia. The institute is run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Russian ...

in Moscow, at the

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, and the Czech Diplomatic Academy. He had a wife, Jana, and two children.

Diplomatic career

Žďárek worked at various diplomatic missions of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. He served as consul-general in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

from 1995 to 1999. From 2004 to August 2008, he was the ambassador in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. He then became the ambassador to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Death

Žďárek survived the bombing of the Islamabad Marriott Hotel, but went in to help other survivors get out of the burning building. He called with his mobile phone asking to be rescued but was unable to escape the blaze. Žďárek's body was returned to his country. A ceremony paying homage to him was held at Prague's airport.

"We are all very saddened, we always appreciated the ambassador’s work considerably." – Czech President
Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

The ceremony was attended by Žďárek's family and Prime Minister

Mirek Topolánek Mirek Topolánek (, born 15 May 1956) is a Czech Republic, Czech politician and business manager who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 2006 to 2009 and the leader of the Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic), Civic Democr ...

References

External links

Curriculum Vitae of Ivo Žďárek
- Embassy of the Czech Republic in Pakistan website
Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - Zardari, Gilani condole Czech envoys death in Marriott attack
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zdarek, Ivo Ambassadors of the Czech Republic to Vietnam Ambassadors of the Czech Republic to Pakistan Charles University alumni Stanford University alumni Czech terrorism victims Terrorism deaths in Pakistan 1960 births 2008 deaths