Jiří Pehe (born 26 August 1955) is a Czech political analyst and writer, and since 1999, has been the Director of New York University's academic center in

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 ...

Early life and education

Pehe was born in

Rokycany Rokycany (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zone. Admini ...

(western

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

) in 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 ...

. He studied law and philosophy at

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 ...

, where he earned a

Magister's degree A magister degree (also magistar, female form: magistra; from , "teacher") is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education. The magister degree arose in medieval universities in Europe and was originally equal to the doctorate; ...

in 1978 and a doctorate in 1980. In September 1981 he fled

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, through

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. After a short stay in a refugee camp near Rome, he arrived with his wife in New York in the US. Until 1983 he worked as a night receptionist at the

Algonquin Hotel The Algonquin Hotel (officially The Algonquin Hotel Times Square, Autograph Collection) is a hotel at 59 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 181-room hotel, opened in 1902, was designed by architect Goldwi ...

in New York. He attended School of International Affairs at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York and graduated in 1985.

Career

From 1985 to 1988, Pehe worked for

Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...

. From August 1988, he worked as a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

analyst for

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

in Munich. In November 1989 he became the head of Central European Research and Analysis. After Radio Free Europe moved its headquarters from Munich to Prague in 1995, he moved back to the Czech Republic. From 1995 to 1997 he served as the director of the Analysis and Research Department at the Open Media Research Institute in Prague. From 1997 to 1999, he was the director of the Political Cabinet in the office of

Czech President The president of the Czech Republic, constitutionally defined as the President of the Republic (), is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The presidency has largely bee ...

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

and continued serving as Havel's external political advisor until the end of Havel's term in 2003. Pehe has written numerous essays and papers that have appeared in world newspapers and academic publications and has also published several books, including three novels. Since 1999 Jiří Pehe has been the director of New York University in Prague. He is a member of International Forum for Democratic Studies Research Council. He frequently comments on political developments for Czech television and radio.

Other activities

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...

(ECFR), MemberMembers

Personal life

Pehe's second wife is American. He has two daughters.

Publications

*1988: ''The Prague Spring: a mixed legacy'',

University Press of America University Press of America (''UPA'') is the former name of an American Academic publishing, academic publishing company based in Lanham, Maryland, which became the parent company of Rowman & Littlefield publishing house, then was later re-intr ...

, (in English) *2006: ''Na okraji zmizelého'', PROSTOR, (in Czech) *2009: ''Tři tváře anděla'', PROSTOR, (in Czech) *2010: ''Demokracie bez demokratů – Úvahy o společnosti a politice'', PROSTOR, (in Czech) * 2010: ''Klaus – portrét politika ve dvaceti obrazech'', PROSTOR, (in Czech) *2012: ''Krize, nebo konec kapitalismu?'', PROSTOR, , (in Czech) *2013: ''Mimořádná událost'', PROSTOR, (in Czech) *2014: ''Three Faces of an Angel'', Jantar Publishing, (in English)

References

External links

Personal page of Jiri Pehe

Jiří Pehe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pehe, Jiri 1955 births People from Rokycany Czech political writers Czech political scientists Living people Czech male bloggers Charles University alumni School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni