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| Jan Kavan | |
|---|---|
 Kavan in 2014 | |
| President of the United Nations General Assembly | |
| In office 15 September 2002 – 16 September 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Han Seung-soo |
| Succeeded by | Julian Hunte |
| 3rd Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic | |
| In office 22 July 1998 – 12 July 2002 | |
| Prime Minister | Miloš Zeman |
| Preceded by | Jaroslav Šedivý |
| Succeeded by | Cyril Svoboda |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1946-10-17) 17 October 1946 (age 78) London, United Kingdom |
| Political party | ČSSD |
| Other political affiliations | Labour Party (1972-1990) |
| Alma mater | Charles University, London School of Economics, University of Reading |
| Profession | Politician |
Jan Kavan (born 17 October 1946) is a former Czech politician and diplomat.
Biography
Kavan was born in London as the son of a Czechoslovak diplomat, Pavel Kavan, and a British teacher, Rosemary Kavanová. Kavan moved back to Czechoslovakia with his parents as a child. His father was then arrested in a Communist Party purge and sentenced to 25 years in prison in a show trial in the 1950s. He was eventually released, but died in 1960 aged 46. Kavan's mother later wrote a memoir, Love and Freedom. Kavan was one of the student leaders of the Prague Spring movement in 1968. When the movement was crushed by the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia, Kavan emigrated to the United Kingdom, the country of his birth, where he was a member of the Labour Party from 1972 to 1990.
Kavan is member of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD). He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002 and one of the deputy prime ministers from 1999 to 2002. He was a member of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly from 1990 to 1992, member of the Senate of the Czech Republic from 1996 to 2000, and a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2002 to 2006. He was elected President of the United Nations General Assembly and acted in this office from 2002 to 2003.
Before returning to former Czechoslovakia after the fall of the Communist government, Kavan spent 20 years in exile in the UK. While in exile he was the editor-in-chief of the Palach Press, a press agency. He was also editor of the East European Reporter and vice-president of the East European Cultural Foundation, both organizations having been founded by him. In 1991, back in Czechoslovakia, Kavan was wrongly accused of collaboration with the Czechoslovak secret service (StB) in the years 1969–1970. He was totally cleared of the charges by a Prague Municipal Court in 1994 and finally, after a renewed process, by a Court of Appeals in January 1996.
He received several honorary degrees, including Honorary Fellow of the London School of Economics, Honorary Professor of Human Rights, Adelphi University of New York, and a number of human rights awards including Companion of Honour (UK), International Order of Merit (UK), and Presidential Roll of Honor (USA).
Kavan was educated at the Charles University in Prague, the London School of Economics and the University of Reading. He is divorced and has four children.
External links
- Biography at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
- Biography Archived 16 January 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- General Assembly President Jan Kavan's timeline on the pages of United Nations
References
- Valachovský, P., Bok, J.: KATO: příběh opravdového člověka. Olomouc (2000): J. W. Hill. ISBN 80-86427-01-3
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byJaroslav Šedivý | Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic 1998–2002 |
Succeeded byCyril Svoboda |
| Positions in intergovernmental organisations | ||
| Preceded byHan Seung-soo | President of the United Nations General Assembly 2002–2003 |
Succeeded byJulian Hunte |
| Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic | ||
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TTO)| Cabinet of Prime Minister Miloš Zeman (1998–2002) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Deputy Prime minister |  | |
| Minister of Industry and Trade Deputy Prime minister | ||
| Minister of Foreign Affairs Deputy Prime minister | ||
| Minister of coordinating foreign, interior and defense Deputy Prime minister | ||
| Deputy Prime minister | ||
| Chairman of the Government Legislative Council Deputy Prime minister | ||
| Minister of Justice | ||
| Minister for Regional Development | ||
| Minister of Health | ||
| Minister of Culture | ||
| Minister for the Interior | ||
| Minister of Environment | ||
| Minister of Transport | ||
| Minister of Finance | ||
| Minister of Defence | ||
| Minister of Education | ||
| Minister of Agriculture | ||
| Minister without Portfolio | ||
- 1946 births
- Living people
- Ministers of foreign affairs of the Czech Republic
- Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly
- English people of Czech descent
- Permanent Representatives of the Czech Republic to the United Nations
- Alumni of the University of Reading
- Alumni of the London School of Economics
- Czech Social Democratic Party MPs
- Czech Social Democratic Party senators
- Czech Social Democratic Party Government ministers
- Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics
- Charles University alumni
- Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (2002–2006)