Fiala awards Karel Kramář Medal to Milada Horáková's daughter Jana Kánská

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala rounded off the first day of his official US trip on Monday by meeting with Czech expatriates in Washington and awarding the Karel Kramář Medal to Jana Kánská, daughter of Milada Horáková, the democratic politician who was executed in a communist show trial in 1950 on charges of treason. Kánská, who has lived in the USA since 1968 and is Milada Horáková's only daughter, received the medal for supporting democracy and Czech-American relations.

Mr. Fiala said that the Czech expatriate community is made up of different types of people who came to the US for different reasons -- some were political refugees fleeing the communist regime, while new generations have emigrated to follow career opportunities in the US. The prime minister said that Czechia values both types of expatriates and praised the assembled guests for not forgetting their Czech roots despite their efforts to integrate into a new society.

Following the conclusion of the official part of his program, the prime minister went to watch an NHL hockey match between Washington and Boston on Monday evening local time.