Mojmír Povolný
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mojmír Povolný (November 25, 1921 – August 21, 2012) was a Czech lawyer and politician. He was a professor of government at
Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...
in
Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...
, from 1958 to 1987. He began his academic career with a J.D. degree from Masaryk University School of Law in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''ÄŒesko-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 ...
. On August 21, 2012, Povolný died at home in Appleton. In the earlier part of his life, he was politically exiled for devoting a majority of his life to liberating Czechoslovakia from Communist and Soviet occupation. Povolný's service to Czechoslovakia was recognized by President
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 ...
in 1995 when he was presented with the
Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk () is an order (decoration), Order of the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1990 after the Velvet Revolution, and re-established in 1994 (following the dissolution of Czechosl ...
.


Personal life and education

Mojmír Povolný was born in
Měnín Měnín () is a municipality and village in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. Měnín lies approximately south of Brno and south-east of Prague. Demographics Notable peop ...
, a Moravian village in what is now the Czech Republic, on November 25, 1921. He spent five years in elementary school, before going to a gymnasium, or prep school, for eight years. When Povolný finished gymnasium and was of age to attend university, the country was occupied by Nazi Germany and universities had been closed by the Germans. He worked in a factory until after the conflict, when he then went to university. Povolný took part in the Beneš Party's democratic youth movement during his college studies. In 1947, he earned a Juris Doctor degree in 2½ years from
Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) (; ) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno, it now consists of ten faculties and 35,115 students. It is named after To ...
School of Law in
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
, Czechoslovakia. Shortly after graduation, he served as the executive secretary of its Economic Council in Prague for about one year. From 1974 to 1993, Povolný was the President of the
Council of Free Czechoslovakia A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...
. In 1948, shortly after the Communist coup d'état in April, Povolný fled to Paris. While Povolný was in Paris, he studied international law at the Institute of Higher International Studies and worked as an assistant for the European Director of the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...
. In 1950, he migrated to the United States and received his PhD in international relations from the University of Chicago in 1954. In 1957, he joined the faculty at Lawrence University where he taught government for 30 years. He received an honorary degree from Masaryk University in 1992. Mojmír married his wife Joyce on July 15, 1956, and had two children (David and Daniel), ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.


Academic career

Povolný began his academic career in Czechoslovakia, where he earned J.D. degree from
Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) (; ) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno, it now consists of ten faculties and 35,115 students. It is named after To ...
School of Law. After arriving in the United States, he earned a Ph.D. in international relations at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
and later taught there for one year (1956–57) before becoming a professor of government at
Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...
in Appleton, Wisconsin, from 1958–1987. During winter 1958, he commuted from Chicago to teach a course in politics at Lawrence University while also teaching at the University of Chicago three times a week before he began teaching full-time at Lawrence in September the same year. During his career at Lawrence, Povolný taught courses in international politics, international law, international organizations and Soviet politics, but he was also heavily involved in the college in other ways. He became the chair of The Select Committee on Planning in 1969, where he was a key figure in restructuring the institutional plan for liberal arts education at Lawrence. He led more than 50 Lawrence University mentees during his tenure, and was honored with the Lawrence University Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1986. On his retirement in 1987, Povolný was praised for his service as an "academic dean, department chair, wise counselor to presidents, confidant to colleagues, pedagogical innovator, scholar, and, above all, generous guide and teacher to students" and the university made two dedications in honor of his retirement. One was The Mojimir Povolny Prize in Government, an award annually granted to an outstanding senior in the government department. Secondly, an annual lecture series named in his honor that was purposed to highlight the improvement of global cooperation was established in 1987. Notable speakers include the journalist
Peter Copeland __NOTOC__ Peter Michael Copeland (17 July 1942 – 30 July 2006) was an English sound archivist. From an early age he had a deep interest in collecting old gramophone records and in sound recording. In 1961 he joined the BBC World Service as ...
and the former Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary George Meyer. The Lawrence University Povolny Lecture Series encourages student engagement with the ethical dimensions surrounding political science and government. In the lectures, presenters debate topics such as politics, economics and culture in a global world view, and work to find a balance between government control and corporate freedom to prevent harm to the environment while keeping business competitiveness intact.


Involvement in Czech politics

From 1947 to 1948, Povolný carried out his role as "executive secretary of its Economic Council in Prague" with the Beneš Party’s democratic youth movement. After the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia and the Communist coup d'état, Povolný escaped the country with the help of supportive representatives of the Communist secret police in April 1948.


Involvement in Czech politics while in United States

After escaping Czechoslovakia to the United States, Povolný continued to be involved in its politics. Shortly after his flight from Czechoslovakia, he and a few of his former and current students created a magazine and wrote memoranda, appealing to a wide range of organizations from the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
down to any small ones for help against the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. In 1974, Povolný was elected as Chair of the Council of Free Czechoslovakia in New York City and held that chair until the fall of the communist regime in during the
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...
in 1989. This Council was set up in order to help with the liberation of Czechoslovakia from communism. At the end of his time as chairman, he returned to the Czech Republic to help with the reconstruction of Czechoslovakia's civil society at the request of the Czech government. Part of the effort was to establish political science in the Czech Republic after November 1989. In the early 1990s, Povolný became a member of the Board of Consultants of the President of the Republic and on, October 28, 1995, was presented with the
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Order Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas. Tomáš is also a surname (feminine: Tomášová). Notable people with the name include: Given name Sport *Tomáš Berdych (born 1985), Czech tennis player * Tomáš Chorà ...
, the Czech Republic's highest civilian honor, for "his service to democracy and human rights". In addition, Povolný wrote a book that analyzed the contribution of exiled organizations in the 1970s and 1980s to support domestic dissent.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Povolný, Mojmír 1921 births 2012 deaths People from Brno-Country District Czech National Social Party politicians Czechoslovak expatriates in France Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States American people of Moravian descent Masaryk University alumni University of Chicago alumni Lawrence University faculty Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Czechoslovak lawyers Czech exiles Czech politicians Czechoslovak politicians