State honours handed out on Czechoslovak Independence Day

On the occasion of Czechoslovak Independence Day, President Zeman presented high state distinctions to 78 outstanding personalities from different walks of life, 32 of them were awarded in memoriam. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received the Order of the White Lion, the highest state honour in the Czech Republic, in absentia. The Order of the White Lion was also awarded to Josef Mašín, a member of the Czechoslovak Legions in Russia and later a member of the underground resistance against the Nazis and also to Brigadier General Vaclav Moravek, a member of the resistance group Three Kings. Medals of merit also went to tennis legend Ivan Lendl and the late Ivana Trump.

A Medal for Heroism was awarded to Jan Košík, commander of the Hřensko volunteer firefighters who fought the devastating forest fire in the region this summer and to Lieutenant Colonel Petr Matouš, who headed a special unit in Afghanistan. The president also honoured the late singers Hana Zagorová and Miroslav Zbirka.