Journalist Petr Brod and economist Radek Špicar among laureates awarded Czech Medal for Merit in Diplomacy
On June 3rd, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský awarded the Medal for Merit in Diplomacy to sixteen people and institutions who have made a significant contribution to Czech diplomacy and foreign relations. Danny Bate was present at the ceremony, and spoke to two of the honourees.
At a resplendent ceremony at the Czernin Palace, sixteen individuals and representatives of organisations shook hands with Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and received the ministry’s Medals for Merit in Diplomacy for this year.
Established in 2018, the award is a token of appreciation for those who have made a significant contribution to Czechia’s international relations. The recipients are a diverse group; far from all being professional diplomats, they this year included journalists, translators, writers, and even the head of the Czech Counter Intelligence Service.
At the reception after the ceremony, Danny Bate spoke to Radek Špicar, a prominent Czech economist and the vice-president of the Czech Confederation of Industry and Transport. As one of the sixteen laureates, he shared his personal reaction to the award:
“I feel honoured, of course, but I have to say that I don't see it as an acknowledgment of my efforts only. I see it as an acknowledgment of the good work that my colleagues at the Confederation of Industry and Transport have been doing recently, when it comes to economic diplomacy or the organisation of business delegations that accompany Czech politicians on their official state visits.”
Also present and honoured at the ceremony was Petr Brod, a veteran journalist and broadcaster, who has worked for the BBC and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and has striven to strengthen Czech-German relations. He recounted his initial dilemma over his suitability for receiving the Medal for Merit in Diplomacy:
“I was surprised in a way because I'm not a professional diplomat. When the medal you get is called ‘for achievements in diplomacy’, then you feel you're in the wrong place to some extent. I'm a journalist. I have known in my life many diplomats and people dealing with foreign relations of various countries, that's true. But what my personal contribution to Czech diplomacy can be never occurred to me. So I had to think, when I was asked, whether I would accept the award. I had to think whether I was worth it and whether I did indeed contribute in any way to Czech diplomacy.
“I came to the conclusion that I can accept the award because for many years especially I've been active in the field of Czech-German relations … The importance of Czech-German relations cannot be exaggerated. They were very deeply disturbed by the history of the twentieth century, in which Czechs and Germans twice at least stood against each other as enemies. There's still a lot to repair from that period and I have tried to contribute to this repair work as far as my abilities reach.
“One of the main channels for this activity is the Czech-German Fund for the Future, which is a bilateral agency sponsored by the governments of both countries. The main task of the agency or the fund is to support projects that bring together Czechs and Germans in a living cooperation, where they meet, where they create something together, or where they for example repair old churches in places abandoned by the German population of pre-war Czechoslovakia. All this comes within the purview of the fund, and I have been participating in the work of this fund for many years. Therefore I think I have contributed a bit to the improvement of Czech-German relations, which in the last thirty years or so has been great.”
Mr. Špicar and Mr. Brod joined the illustrious cohort of previous recipients of the medal, who include former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Czech statesman Karel Schwarzenberg, and former Secretary General of NATO Javier Solana.
