Former Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg passes away at 85

For the last few days, Mr. Schwarzenberg was hospitalized in Vienna, Austria. News server Echo24 reports that he passed away on Saturday, 11 November.

“Karel Schwarzenberg has died… It was clear to me that this would happen soon, but it’s a blow all the same. He was one of the most important and kindest people in my life. May he rest in peace, the Czech Republic should always be grateful to him for all he did for her with no thought of personal reward,” said co-founder of TOP 09 and former Czech Finance Minister Kalousek.

Mr. Schwarzenberg was transported by air to a hospital in Vienna last week. “Ask the doctors why they brought me here, I don’t know. I don’t believe it’s because there are greater specialists here than in Czechia. I guess that would be roughly the same, but here I will be able to see my children and my grandchildren,” he previously told the Expres news server, given that he spent much of his life in Vienna and part of his family lives there.

His ailments, which Mr. Schwarzenberg had described as involving heart and kidney problems, were something he had struggled with for a longer time, undergoing repeated hospitalizations, and he was unable to attend the 28 October awarding of Czech state honors in person this year, during which he was awarded the Order of the White Lion, the highest Czech state honor. Mr. Schwarzenberg, who was from the Orlice branch of the aristocratic Schwarzenberg family, studied law in Vienna and Graz and then began studying forestry in Munich, but never completed those studies.

Mr. Schwarzenberg lived abroad until 1989, but after the Velvet Revolution he became director of the Office of Czechoslovak President Václav Havel. He served as Czech Foreign Affairs Minister twice, first between 2007 and 2009 and then from 2010 to 2013, and in 2013 he made it into the second round of the country’s first-ever direct elections for the presidency, losing to Miloš Zeman.

From 2004 to 2010, Mr. Schwarzenberg was elected senator, and after 2010 he was elected to the lower house. The elections to the Chamber of Deputies in 2017 saw him become the oldest person in Czech history ever elected to the lower house.

Kalousek and Mr. Schwarzenberg established TOP 09 in June 2009, and Mr. Schwarzenberg was elected its chair that autumn, serving in that role until 2015.

Czech Prezident Petr Pavel: Serving our country was a natural mission for Schwarzenberg

For Mr. Schwarzenberg, public service was not just a continuation of his family’s relationship to this part of the world, but an absolutely natural mission. Czech President Petr Pavel summarized Mr. Schwarzenberg’s contribution that way today through the X social media network.

According to President Pavel, Mr. Schwarzenberg was a great man in all respects. On 28 October, Pavel awarded him the highest Czech state honor, the Order of the White Lion.

Jan, Mr. Schwarzenberg’s son, received the honor on his behalf at Prague Castle during the ceremony in the Vladislav Hall. “A great man in all respects has passed away. His service to our country was not just a continuation of his family’s relationship to it, but an absolutely natural mission,” Pavel wrote.

President of the Czech Senate Vystrčil: Schwarzenberg’s name opens doors for us

Czech senators are remembering former Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Schwarzenberg as a person who was always willing to aid others and who enjoyed great authority abroad. According to the president of the Czech Senate, Miloš Vystrčil (Civic Democratic Party – ODS), Mr. Schwarzenberg’s name opened doors for the country.

“Sometimes it seemed that Karel Schwarzenberg wasn’t listening during meetings, he seemed to be napping. Then suddenly he would speak and it was clear that he had attentively perceived everything around him the entire time. He always aided us and his name opened doors for us. He saw further than the rest and did an enormous amount of work for the Czech Republic,” said Vystrčil.

Speaking on Czech Television, independent Senator Pavel Fischer recalled Mr. Schwarzenberg’s work in his post as director of the Office of the President at Prague Castle during Czechoslovak President Václav Havel’s first term. “He was generous with his aid even when he no longer had any official role. Whenever we called him from Prague Castle, he immediately showed up and was available to the president of the republic,” Fischer described.

As Foreign Affairs Minister, Fischer said Mr. Schwarzenberg held exceptional authority and was respected even in countries which otherwise showed just formal interest in the Czech Republic. Fischer added that he was a great European and a great patriot.

Czech Senator Marek Hilšer (Mayors and Independents – STAN), said he considers Mr. Schwarzenberg to be a distinctive figure in Czech politics. “Above all what deserves attention is his work to protect human rights, his support of dissidents and his work for Václav Havel,” he posted to the X social media network.

Czech Senator Herbert Pavera (TOP 09) posted to the X social media network that Mr. Schwarzenberg enjoyed great respect even from his opponents. “I will always recall him as a person with a big heart, of great refinement, he was an unreal gentleman who knew how to listen to people and how to aid them. We will miss him very much,” he wrote.

Members of the Czech Government mention patriotism and respect for democracy in relation to the late Mr. Schwarzenberg

Representatives of the current Government are mentioning Mr. Schwarzenberg’s patriotism, his respect for democracy and the irreplaceable role he played in shaping the Czech political scene. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said it was his honor to have served in a previous cabinet together with him.

Posting on the X social media platform, Fiala said Mr. Schwarzenberg was an important figure among the Czechs living in exile and then in Czech politics of the last few decades. He said he appreciated the fact that during totalitarianism, Mr. Schwarzenberg aided Czech dissidents and decided to serve Czechia in many functions after 1989.

When he began his term as Czech Education Minister in 2012, Fiala served in the Government of Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas (ODS) together with former Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Schwarzenberg. “Just a couple of weeks ago I visited him in the hospital and we promised to meet again soon once he came home. I am sorry we won’t get to smoke another pipe together again,” Fiala said.

The PM also wrote that he had received the news of the death of the former Foreign Affairs Minister with deep sorrow. “He was a distinctive figure among the Czechs in exile and in Czech politics during the last few decades, he aided us with earning respect and a good name abroad. We will greatly miss his insight, his experience and his refinement,” he said.

“Charisma, elegance, dignity, intelligence, kindness and a brilliant, edgy sense of humor. All of this (and much more) is what Karel Schwarzenberg gave us,” Czech Vice Prime Minister Vít Rakušan (STAN) wrote to the Czech Press Agency (ČTK).

“He loved this country, he was a patriot who had absolutely no patience for the shrillness and sneakiness of populists and totalitarians. He symbolized the good tradition, but he was not afraid of young people or of change,” Rakušan said.

Czech Vice Prime Minister Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) wrote to ČTK that Mr. Schwarzenberg was a crucial figure who formed the Czech political scene. In his view, the state honors he received from President Václav Havel and from President Petr Pavel are a testament to Mr. Schwarzenberg’s exceptional role in the development of the Czech Republic.

“Despite our differences of opinion in politics, I appreciated him as a person and as a politician. His attitude toward democracy inspired many,” Bartoš added.

Czech Environment Minister Petr Hladík (Christian Democrats – KDU-ČSL), said a statesman has passed away. “Through his life and his public work, he formed Czech society in its democratic development for more than 30 years. While I did not always agree with him, I always appreciated him, because it is exactly through the competition of opinions and positions that civil society is built,” he wrote.

Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný (KDU-ČSL) thanked Mr. Schwarzenberg for the irreversible mark he left on the renewal of democracy in the Czech Republic.

Zeman appreciated Mr. Schwarzenberg as a competitor and enjoyed discussing things with him

“I appreciated Karel Schwarzenberg as my competitor in the presidential election, I enjoyed discussing things with him even after we both became pensioners using wheelchairs.” That was former Czech President Miloš Zeman’s response to Mr. Schwarzenberg’s death on Saturday, posted to Facebook.

Mr. Schwarzenberg and Zeman competed during the second round of the first-ever direct elections for president in the Czech Republic in 2013. Zeman won with 54.8 % of the vote.

After his first five-year term, Zeman won re-election, leaving Prague Castle in March of this year. Mr. Schwarzenberg went on to be elected to both the lower and the upper houses of Parliament.

“The last time we recently met was at his chateau in Dřevíč, and it was quite a pleasant, nice meeting,” Zeman said.