Jiří Dienstbier (20 April 1937 – 8 January 2011) 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'
Places
*Czech, ...
politician and journalist. Born in
Kladno
Kladno (; german: Kladen) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 67,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and together with its adjacent suburban areas has a population of more than 110,000.
...
, he was one of
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
's most respected foreign correspondents before being fired after the
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in
the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...
. Unable to have a livelihood as a journalist, he worked as a janitor for the next two decades. During this time, he secretly revived the suppressed ''
Lidové noviny
''Lidové noviny'' (''People's News'', or ''The People's Newspaper'', ) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily still in print, and a newspaper of record.[Czech Senate
The Senate (), literally "Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic", is the upper house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague.
Structure
The Senate has 81 members, chosen in s ...]
for the
Kladno
Kladno (; german: Kladen) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 67,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and together with its adjacent suburban areas has a population of more than 110,000.
...
region. He died in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
.
Awards and honors
In 2000, the
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
-based
International Press Institute
International Press Institute (IPI) is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. The institution was founded by 34 editors from 15 countries at Columbia Universit ...
named him one of its 50
World Press Freedom Heroes
International Press Institute World Press Freedom Heroes are individuals who have been recognized by the Vienna-based International Press Institute for "significant contributions to the maintenance of press freedom and freedom of expression" and "i ...
of the past 50 years. In 2013, Dienstbier was posthumously awarded the
Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award
The Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award is given annually to honor individuals who have dedicated their lives to public service. It was established in 2000 by the Prague Society for International Cooperation and thGlobal Panel Foundation It is ...
given jointly by the
Prague Society for International Cooperation
The Prague Society for International Cooperation is a Prague-based non-governmental organization that originated in communist Central Europe, when political dissidents joined forces to oppose their respective regimes. Though several of its membe ...
List of Hanno R. Ellenbogen Award Winners
on Praguesociety.org an
Global Panel Foundation
References
External links
Senate page
Personal website
1937 births
2011 deaths
Charles University alumni
Politicians from Kladno
Charter 77 signatories
Czech human rights activists
Czech democracy activists
Czechoslovak dissidents
Foreign ministers of Czechoslovakia
Government ministers of Czechoslovakia
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Civic Forum politicians
Civic Movement Government ministers
Janitors
{{Czech-politician-stub