Karel Schwarzenberg
Karel, 12th and 7th Prince of 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.
Karel Schwarzenberg | |
|---|---|
Schwarzenberg as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2007 | |
| 6th & 8th Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 13 July 2010 – 10 July 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Petr Nečas |
| Preceded by | Jan Kohout |
| Succeeded by | Jan Kohout |
| In office 9 January 2007 – 8 May 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Mirek Topolánek |
| Preceded by | Alexandr Vondra |
| Succeeded by | Jan Kohout |
| First Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic | |
| In office 13 July 2010 – 10 July 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Petr Nečas |
| Preceded by | Vlasta Parkanová |
| Succeeded by | Jan Fischer |
| Leader of TOP 09 | |
| In office 28 November 2009 – 29 November 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Inaugural holder |
| Succeeded by | Miroslav Kalousek |
| Senator from Prague 6 | |
| In office 13 November 2004 – 29 May 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Jan Ruml |
| Succeeded by | Petr Bratský |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 29 May 2010 – 21 October 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 December 1937 Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) |
| Died | 12 November 2023 (aged 85) Vienna, Austria |
| Resting place | Orlík Castle, Orlík nad Vltavou, Czech Republic 49°30′20″N 14°10′02″E |
| Citizenship | Czech Republic, Switzerland |
| Political party | ODA (1996–2007) TOP 09 (2009–2023) |
| Spouse | Therese Hardegg |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna University of Graz University of Munich (all left prior Graduation) |
| Signature | |
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.
Schwarzenberg was the head of the House of Schwarzenberg, a formerly leading family of the Habsburg empire, from 1979 until his death. He was related to Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, a statesman of the Austrian Empire. From 1948 to 1990, he lived in Austria, where he was known as Karl Schwarzenberg, and was involved in politics for the Austrian People's Party and became a noted critic of human-rights violations in the Eastern Bloc, chairing the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. Following the fall of communism, he became a close adviser to Václav Havel and relocated to Prague.
Schwarzenberg was married to Countess Therese von Hardegg (Therese Gräfin zu Hardegg auf Glatz und im Machlande) and they had three children, all of whom live in Austria.