Alexandr Vondra

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Alexandr "Saša" Vondra (born 17 August 1961 in Prague) was the foreign minister of the Czech Republic from 4 September 2006 to 9 January 2007 and Senator for Litoměřice district for the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) since autumn Czech Senate election, 2006. In the new government reshuffle announced for late December 2006, he is to become a deputy Prime Minister for European defense.

He graduated in geography from Charles University in Prague in 1984. He is married and has 3 children. In the mid-1980s he was a dissident and Charter 77 signatory, imprisoned for two months, and co-founded Civic Forum.

In 1990-1992, Vondra was foreign policy advisor to President Václav Havel. When the dissolution of Czechoslovakia Came, Havel resigned and at the same time independent Czech foreign service started to be built, Vondra became Czech Republic's First Deputy Foreign Minister in August 1992, a. o. negotiating the division of Czechoslovak diplomacy. In March 1997 Vondra left to become the Czech Ambassador to the United States, staying there until July 2001. From March 2001 to January 2003, Vondra was the Czech Government Commissioner responsible for preparation of the 2002 NATO summit meeting in Prague. From January to July 2003 Vondra was a Deputy Foreign Minister.

He became paying ODS member only after his appointment and the Senate win. He is generally perceived as pro-United States and wary of European integration though less than ODS Euroskeptic hardliners and has good connections to Havel (his announced return to politics in spring 2006 was taken as a sign of ODS trying to appease the political centre); this makes his new post rather ironic, not to say superfluous, but in forging the new coalition, ODS ceded the foreign ministry to his predecessor Cyril Svoboda from Christian Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party whose pro-EU line is also closer to the Green Party that enters the government as well.