Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček (Social Democrats) on Monday honoured
12 people for their contributions to diplomacy, including nine who worked
to ensure a successful transition to democracy after the Velvet Revolution.
Several of the recipients were honoured in memoriam. They included the
first post-communist foreign minister, Jiří Dienstbier Sr., who was
awarded a posthumous Medal of Merit for Diplomacy, and the late German
diplomat Klaus Kinkel, honoured for advancing Czech-German relations.
Medals of Merit for Diplomacy were also handed to former Foreign Minister
Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09) and former Czech Ambassador to NATO Karel
Kovanda, who had been named awardees in March but were not then available
to receive them.
Honoured for their post-Velvet Revolution diplomatic work were Slovak
actress Magda Vašáryová, who served as Czechoslovak ambassador to
Austria, and Jiří Gruša, a long-time ambassador to both Germany and
Austria.
In addition, Felix Kolmer and Tomáš Kosta, both survivors of Nazi
concentration camps who were involved in the process of reconciliation
between Czechs and Germans, were also awarded.