Karel Pergler, known also by Anglicized Charles Pergler ( Liblín, March 6, 1882 – Washington, D.C., August 14, 1954) was a Czech- American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was a Czechoslovak First Republic

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the United States and Japan. Pergler was born in Liblín, Bohemia, but moved to the United States at a young age. When his father died, the family moved back to Bohemia, where Pergler got active in the socialist and nationalist movements supporting Czechoslovak independence from

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He went back to the United States in 1903, studying law at

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...

, and afterwards practicing law in

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

till 1917. He served as the secretary of Professor Thomas Garrigue Masaryk from May 1918 in America. He became ambassador to the United States after Czechoslovak independence in 1918, then becoming ambassador to Japan in 1920. He was dismissed from the foreign service in 1921, with his pension taken away, because of fraud at the Tokyo embassy. He returned to the United States, obtaining a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree from American University. He would return to Czechoslovakia in 1929, where he worked together with Radola Gajda and Jiří Stříbrný against

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1945 to 1948. He also led the Czechoslovak government-in-exile 1939 to 194 ...

, and got elected to parliament. In February 1931 he had to relinquish his post, because issues were raised over his citizenship. He returned to America, and taught at various universities. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1954.

References

External links

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Charles/Karel Pergler History

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pergler, Charles 1882 births 1954 deaths People from Rokycany District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czechoslovak politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1929–1935) Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to Japan Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to the United States 20th-century Czech lawyers Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States American people of Bohemian descent 20th-century American lawyers