Martin Stropnický (born 19 December 1956) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

politician and diplomat who served as the

minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from December 2017 to June 2018, and was previously

minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

from 2014 to 2017. From 2 January 1998 to 22 July 1998 he also served as the

minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

. Before entering politics, he was an actor, songwriter, author and director.

Career

Stropnický graduated from the

Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Department of Dramatic Theatre (, abbreviated DAMU) is one of three departments at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (alongside the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, ...

(DAMU) in 1980, and worked in different theatres in Prague over the next decade including the Prague Municipal Theatre and the Vinohrady Theatre. In 1990 he began working at the Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs (which became the

Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (MFACR; ; MZVČR) is a Czech government ministry responsible for international relations of the Czech Republic. The Ministry is headquartered in Černín Palace, Loretánské náměstí 5, 1 ...

two years later). He graduated from the

Diplomatic Academy of Vienna The Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (DA; German: ''Diplomatische Akademie Wien''), also known as the Vienna School of International Studies, is a postgraduate professional school based in Vienna, Austria, with focused training for students and pro ...

in 1991, and subsequently served as the Czech Ambassador to Portugal (1993–94) and then Italy (1994-97). For a six-month period from January to July 1998, Stropnický was appointed Czech Minister of Culture in the

caretaker government A caretaker government, also known as a caretaker regime, is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it co ...

of Josef Tošovský. He subsequently returned to the diplomatic service, serving as Czech Ambassador to the Vatican from 1999 to 2003, before returning to the Vinohrady Theatre as artistic director. He was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

in 2013 and served as Minister of Defence in Bohuslav Sobotka's Cabinet. Following the 2017 legislative election, which saw

Andrej Babiš Andrej Babiš (; born 2 September 1954) is a Czech businessman and politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, prime minister of the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as the Finance Minister of the Cze ...

taking over as prime minister, Stropnický became Minister for Foreign Affairs, as well as deputy prime minister, assuming both positions on 13 December 2017. However, Babiš' government lost a confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies, and Stropnický was succeeded on 27 June 2018 by Jan Hamáček. On 1 October 2018, Stropnický resigned from Parliament to return to the diplomatic service as Czech Ambassador to Israel. After the end of his mission in Israel, Stropnický left

ANO 2011 ANO (), registered as ANO 2011, is a right-wing populist political party in the Czech Republic, led by businessman Andrej Babiš, who served as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. Formed in 2011, the party finished second i ...

Personal life

Stropnický was married. In addition to Czech, he speaks English, French, and Italian, with a passive knowledge of Portuguese, Russian, and German. Stropnický is the father of former

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

councillor Matěj Stropnický.

References

External links