Karel Vašák is a Czech-French international official and university professor.
Vasak was born in Czechoslovakia and later moved to France to study law. He decided to remain there after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. He acquired French citizenship and worked for the Council of Europe in various capacities.
In 1969, Vasak became the first Secretary-General of the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, a position which he held until 1980. He served as Director of the Division of Human Rights and Peace[1] and later as Legal Advisor to UNESCO and the World Tourism Organization.
Vasak was the editor of a 1982 book called The International Dimensions of Human Rights (ISBN 0-313-23394-2).