President Pavel: Czechia needs politicians with a vision and courage
At a ceremony marking Czechoslovak Independence Day on October 28, President Pavel handed out awards and high state distinctions to 56 people for outstanding services to the state. Among those honoured were soldiers, decorated in memoriam, artists and sportspeople.
Addressing an audience of 700 guests in the historic Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle, President Pavel said it is important to remember how fragile democracy is and the fact that it must be protected and nurtured. He said history had shown on many occasions how long, difficult, and often painful it was to gain democracy and defend it and how easy it can be to lose it again.
The president said that the Czech Republic faces many challenges –the country needs a viable pension reform, changes in the areas of health care, justice, education, environmental protection, digitalization, taxes, and public administration. According to the head of state, all of these extremely complex tasks are a prerequisite for ensuring that the quality of life does not decrease. The country needs politicians with a vision, not those who build sandcastles offer easy solutions and take the path of least resistance. Politicians who approach the changes we face with courage and responsibility can count on my support, Mr. Pavel said.
On the occasion of Czechoslovak Independence Day, President Petr Pavel awarded the Order of the White Lion, the highest Czech state decoration, to two soldiers in memoriam: Army General and Legionnaire Sergej Jan Ingr, who was Minister of National Defence in the London government-in-exile and also Ambassador to the Netherlands, and František Moravec, Brigadier General and Legionnaire, Commander of Military Intelligence during World War II and member of the exiled military resistance.
The Order of the White Lion also went to London-based architect Eva Jiřičná and choreographer Jiří Kylián.
President Pavel awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the second highest state decoration, to Pope John Paul II, who played an important role in the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, Karel Kovanda, a diplomat and former Czech ambassador to the UN and NATO, Charter 77 signatory and former Ombudswoman Anna Šabatová and journalist Pavel Pecháček, who worked for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty.
The president also awarded the Medal of Merit to four prominent personalities from the world of sports - hockey player Roman Červenka, canoeist Martin Doktor, cyclist Zdeněk Štybar and water slalom champion Štěpánka Hilgertová.
The Medal of Merit also went to a profession that had not been recognized in the past. The head of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Mark Rieder, received the award for helping to minimize the damage wrought by the September floods by the institute’s early and accurate warnings.
