Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová (born 8 January 1966) is a Czech activist, university teacher and former diplomat. She was the leading personality from the 1989

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 ...

and chairperson of the pro-European organization ANO pro Evropu (YES for Europe) which campaigned for Czech membership of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and higher public understanding of European issues. She is currently a lecturer in the Centre for International Education and Exchange

CIEE The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) is a non-profit organization promoting international education and exchange. It was founded in 1947 and is based in the United States. The organization is headquartered in Portland, Maine. ...

attached to the

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 ...

in Prague.

Biography

Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová was born on 8 January 1966 in Janov,

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 ...

(now 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 ...

). She came to public prominence during the 1989

in Czechoslovakia, serving as the official spokesperson for University Strike Committee and was a founding member of the

Civic Forum The Civic Forum (, OF) was a political movement in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The corresponding movement in Slovakia was called Public Against Violence ( – VPN). The Civic Forum's purpo ...

. She was a principal organiser and opening speaker at the mass demonstration on 17 November 1989 which is viewed as the starting point of the Revolution. Due to the prominence which she and other student leaders have played as critics of the later Czech politicians

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician who served as the third president of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2023. He also previously served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

and

Andrej Babiš Andrej Babiš (; born 2 September 1954) is a Czech businessman and politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, prime minister of the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as the Finance Minister of the Cze ...

and their closeness to

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 ...

there have been attempts by the supporters of Klaus, Zeman and Babis to claim that the students were compromised by the fact that they adopted a tactic used by German and Czech dissidents of getting permission for their demonstration. Following 1989 she was a diplomat, serving at different times in the Czechoslovak embassy in Paris, member of the Minister's private office and official spokesperson for the Ministry (Director of the Press Department). She spent four years as principal official responsible for cultural matters in the Council of Europe. Subsequently she presented programmes on European affairs on the

Czech Television Czech Television ( ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting six channels. Established after breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslovak Television founded in 1953. H ...

and

Czech Radio Czech Radio (, ČRo) is the public radio broadcaster of the Czech Republic operating continuously since 1923. It is the oldest national radio broadcaster in continental Europe and the second-oldest in Europe after the BBC. Czech Radio was esta ...

as well as leading the principal non-political organisation which successfully campaigned for a Yes vote in the 2004 referendum on accession to the European Union.

Personal life

Her father is the photographer Ota Pajer. She has a doctorate from the

, Prague specializing in literature. She has edited and contributed to various books on art, the Velvet Revolution, political culture and Europe. In 2000 she received a national book prize for a work with Czech Artist

Jiří Kolář Jiří Kolář (24 September 1914, Protivín – 11 August 2002, Prague) was a Czech poet, writer, painter and translator. His work included both literary and visual art. Life Kolář was born in Protivín on September 29, 1914, in a work ...

. Her sister,

Kateřina Jacques Kateřina Jacques () (born 2 June 1971) is a Czechs, Czech Green Party (Czech Republic), Green Party politician. She was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, lower house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic in the 2006 Czec ...

is a former deputy chairperson of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

and former member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament. She is married and has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonagh-Pajerova, Monika 1966 births Living people People from Děčín District Czechoslovak democracy activists Charles University alumni