František Lipka (born 22 February 1946 in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

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 ...

) is a Slovak diplomat, poet and translator, who contributed to the process of the creation of independent

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Life

Lipka studied Slovak and the

Serbo-Croatian language Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutuall ...

at the School of Philosophy of the

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

(1969). He worked as an external editor of the World Literature Revue magazine, cooperated with magazines "Smena na nedeľu" (Sunday Smena), "Mladá tvorba" (Young Creation), "Slovenské pohľady" (Slovak Views), Romboid; he alternated between posts as a lecturer of the Slovak language and literature at the

University of Novi Sad The University of Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Универзитет у Новом Саду, Univerzitet u Novom Sadu; ) is a public university in Novi Sad, Serbia. Alongside nationally prestigious University of Belgrade, University of Novi Sad is ...

School of Philosophy and at the

, lecturing on the history of Serbian and Croatian literature. He is also active as a

sommelier A ''sommelier'' ( , , ), ''chef de vin'' or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the ''s ...

and since 1994 Lipka has been serving as the President of the International Jury for the Bestowment of the International Vine and Wine Organization awards(Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin), headquartered in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Poetry

He began working with poetry during his university studies, with a debut of sensitive and reflexive lyric poetry "Štvanica" (Hunt). His

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

is characterized by a rational attitude, striving to penetrate national and humankind's universal history, bringing back motives from ancient history with the objective of understanding the presence of humankind in its contemporary social, cultural and ecological environment. His statements often carry a super-personal aspect, creates an impression of an intellectual and analytical cognition of reality.

Translations

František Lipka is also an important translator of

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

, Croatian, Slovenian and

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

literature. He has published an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

of poetry works of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, redacted an anthology of

Serbian poetry Serbian poetry () includes all poetry written in Serbian, starting from the Middle Ages until present day. Middle Ages In the Middle Ages, songs (hymns), including elegies, and services, were written dedicated to Serbian saints. Notable medieval ...

of the 20th century, an anthology of contemporary Macedonian poetry, and prepared an anthology of poetry by contemporary Slovak poets living in the territory of the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. He published a book for children, "Farebné rozprávky" (Colorful Tales).

Works

Poetry * Štvanica (Hunt) (1970) * Jazero (The Lake) (1976) * Zem na jazyku (Earth on the Tongue) (1978) * Orfeus na bicykli (Cycling Orpheus) (1980) * Argonauti (Argonauts) (1981) * Útek z obrazu (Fleeing the Picture) (1984) * Rozprava o metóde (Discourse on the Method) (1989) Children's books * Farebné rozprávky (Colorful Tales) (1969) Anthologies * Sarajevská jar (Spring in Sarajevo) (1970, anthology of poetry from Bosnia and Herzegovina) * Zápisy v striebre mora (Written in the Silver Sea) (1988, anthology of the 20th century Serbian poetry) * Nepokoj v krajine (Unrest in the Country) (1990, anthology of contemporary Macedonian poetry) * Súčasne (Contemporary) (1990, anthology of poetry by contemporary Slovak poets living in the territory of the former Yugoslavia) Wine * Praktický sprievodca slovenskými vínami (Practical Guide of Slovak Wines) (2006)

Diplomatic career

Since the end of the 1980s, he has been active in diplomacy. He served as an ambassador of

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. In 2006 Lipka became the Referendum Commission President (Chairman of the Electoral Commission) for the upcoming Montenegrin Independence Referendum and was in charge of supervision over the course of the referendum, its results and a safeguard of the adherence to correct and valid election processes. On Monday, 22 May 2006 he announced that the preliminary results of the referendum were 55.4% in favor of independence, thus meeting the previously set independence requirement in the form of a

supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...

threshold of 55% in favor.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20071018023055/http://www.oiv.int/es/accueil/index.php * http://www.culture.gov.sk/files/file1310.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Lipka, Frantisek 1963 births Living people Slovak poets Slovak translators European Union diplomats Sommeliers Academic staff of the University of Novi Sad Ambassadors of Slovakia to France Ambassadors of Slovakia to Belgium Ambassadors of Slovakia to Luxembourg Slovak officials of the European Union