Biographical Note

New permanent representative of Czech Republic Presents credentials

 

(Based on information received from the Protocol and Liaison Service.)

Martin Palous, the new Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the United Nations, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today.

Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Palous served as his country’s Ambassador to the United States in Washington from 2002 to 2005.  From 1998 to 2001, he served as the Czech Republic’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.  From 1990 to 1992, he was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia.

A founding member of the Civic Forum in November 1989, Mr. Palous was elected to the Federal Assembly in 1990 and became a member of its Foreign Affairs Committee.  One of the first signatories of Charter 77, he served in 1986 as spokesman for the dissident human rights group.  Mr. Palous has also been a active in various non-governmental organizations throughout his career.

In his academic career, Mr. Palous has also held a number of teaching positions, including at Charles University in Prague, where in 1994 he became a member of the Faculty of Social Sciences, serving also as Vice-Dean.  He lectured extensively in the United States, including as visiting professor at Northwestern University in the United States from 1993 to 1994.  From 1995 to 1996 he was an associate professor at Central European University in Budapest.

Mr. Palous received a Doctor of Natural Sciences degree in chemistry from Charles University in 1973.  He also studied philosophy and social sciences, graduating in 1977.  From 1996 to 1999 and 2002 to 2005, Mr. Palous studied law.  He is currently working on his doctoral thesis in international law at Masaryk University in Brno.  In 2001, he defended his higher doctorate in political science and became an associate professor at Charles University.

Born on 14 October 1950 in Prague, Mr. Palous is married with two children.

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