Karel Schwarzenberg

Karel Schwarzenberg ( Czech pronunciation: [ˈʃvartsn̩bɛrk], 10 December 1937 – 12 November 2023) was a Czech politician, diplomat and statesman who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic from 2007 to 2009 and then again between 2010 and 2013. Schwarzenberg was leader and co-founder of the TOP 09 party and its candidate for president of the Czech Republic in the 2013 election. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP) from 2010 to 2021 and in the Senate from 2004 until 2010.

From July 1990 to July 1992 Schwarzenberg served as the chancellor (director of the presidential office) to Václav Havel, while he was president. He went on to be elected as Senator for the municipal district Prague 6 from 2004 to 2010 and to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic from 2007 to 2009 and again from 2010 to 2013, originally as a non-partisan minister nominated by the Green Party. In May 2010, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the newly founded pro-European centre-right party TOP 09, gaining the largest number of preference votes. He was candidate for President of the Czech Republic in the 2013 presidential election, and qualified for the second round, finishing as runner-up, with 45.19% of the votes. Schwarzenberg was noted for his pro-European views.