Ivan Medek (July 13, 1925 – January 6, 2010) was a Czech classical music critic, radio broadcaster and journalist. Medek was an important voice of the Czech

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

opposition movement, particularly after being forced into

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

from

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1978. Medek collaborated closely with such Czechoslovak politicians as

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

and

Pavel Tigrid Pavel Tigrid (27 October 1917 – 31 August 2003) was a Czech Republic, Czech writer, publisher, author and politician. He is considered one of the most important personalities of the Czech exile journalism. Biography Pavel Schönfeld was born in ...

in opposition to communist rule. He was a brother of the Czech painter

Mikuláš Medek .Mikuláš Medek (3 November 1926 – 23 August 1974) was a Czecoslovak painter. He united the artistic tradition of over three generations and thanks to the originality of his expression, depth and spirituality of his extraordinary work, he occu ...

and the son of the general

Rudolf Medek Rudolf Medek (8 January 1890 in Hradec Králové – 22 August 1940) was a Czech poet, army-related prose writer, and a general in the Czechoslovak Legions in Russia. In 1919 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order by George V which he sent ...

. PRECLÍK, Vratislav. Masaryk a legie (Masaryk and legions), váz. kniha, 219 pages, first issue - vydalo nakladatelství Paris Karviná, Žižkova 2379 (734 01 Karvina, Czechia) ve spolupráci s Masarykovým demokratickým hnutím (Masaryk democratic movement, Prague), 2019, , str. 23 - 24, 153 - 54 Medek was born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, on July 13, 1925. He began his career as both a classical music critic and journalist. He worked as a musician for the

Czech Philharmonic The Czech Philharmonic () is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. Its principal performing venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orche ...

until he was fired by the government for his support of the opposition. Medek was an original signatory of the

Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

in 1977. Persecution by the communist government for his participation in Charter 77 forced Medek into

in neighboring

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

beginning in 1978. Medek began working at the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

in Austria, where he broadcast

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

and information into

. His VoA radio broadcasts became an important link for anti-communist

dissidents A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

in his native Czechoslovakia. Medek returned to Czechoslovakia from exile in 1989 during the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

. In 1993, Medek was appointed to the office of the presidency under

, the first president of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. He later became the head of the presidency, or chancellor, under Havel. Medek died in

on January 6, 2010, at the age of 84. He was survived by his wife, Helena.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medek, Ivan 1925 births 2010 deaths Charter 77 signatories Czech anti-communists Czech classical musicians Czech journalists Czech radio personalities Musicians from Prague Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk KDU-ČSL politicians