Jiří Dienstbier (20 April 1937 – 8 January 2011) was a
Czech politician and journalist.
Biography
Born in
Kladno
Kladno (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 70,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and has a rich industrial history.
Administrative division
Kladno consists of six municipal parts ...
, he was one of
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 ...
's most respected foreign correspondents before being fired after the
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in
the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...
. 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'' newspaper.
After the end of communist rule in 1989, he became the country's first non-Communist foreign minister in four decades, a post he held until 1992. Shortly after his appointment in December 1989, Dienstbier and
Minister of National Defence Miroslav Vacek called for the withdrawal of 75,000 Soviet troops who had been stationed in the country since the 1968
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...
.
In 2008, he was elected to the
Czech Senate for the
Kladno
Kladno (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 70,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and has a rich industrial history.
Administrative division
Kladno consists of six municipal parts ...
region. He died on 8 January 2011 in Prague's Vinohrady Hospital.
Awards and honors
In 2000, the
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
-based
International Press Institute named him one of its 50
World Press Freedom Heroes of the past 50 years. In 2013, Dienstbier was posthumously awarded the
Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award given jointly by the
Prague Society for International Cooperation an
Global Panel Foundation
In popular culture
He was portrayed by
Vojtěch Kotek in
Jiří Mádl
Jiří Mádl (born October 23, 1986) is a Czech film actor, director and screenwriter.
Biography
He was born in České Budějovice.
Among his most prominent roles are a part in the 2008 film ''Night Owls (2008 film), Night Owls'', for which ...
's film ''
Waves
United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942, ...
'' (2024).
References
External links
Senate pagePersonal website
1937 births
2011 deaths
Charles University alumni
People from Kladno
Politicians from Kladno
Charter 77 signatories
Civic Forum politicians
Civic Movement Government ministers
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia members
Czech human rights activists
Czech democracy activists
Czechoslovak dissidents
Foreign ministers of Czechoslovakia
Government ministers of Czechoslovakia
Janitors
People of the Velvet Revolution
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
{{Czech-politician-stub