“It is with great pain that I have received the news of the death of one of the best diplomats our country has ever had, Martin Povejšil. Martin was not only an esteemed colleague but also someone I really admired and from whom I learned and listened to every day. I respected him for his honesty, his discretion and his decisiveness. He did a tremendous amount of work for Czech diplomacy in the field of security, in NATO, in the EU, in Spain and Chile. My heart goes out to his family, who supported him in his work for the Czech Republic,” said Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský.

Martin Povejšil made a major contribution to Czech diplomacy. Having joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1990, he became a legend and an embodiment of the best qualities of Czech diplomacy thanks to his tireless work for our country and its anchorage among free democratic Western countries.

His professional contribution to our integration into NATO and the European Union and the shaping and promotion of Czech foreign and security policy was invaluable. His deep insight into international relations, his way of thinking about the interests of the Czech Republic and his way of working have been an inspiration for several generations of Czech diplomats. Until his last moments, he actively worked for our diplomacy and the Czech Republic.

Martin Povejšil served as Ambassador to Chile from 1994 to 1998, Director General for the European Section of the MFA from 1998 to 2000, Ambassador to Spain and Andorra from 2000 to 2004, Director General for the European Section of the MFA from 2004 to 2005, and Director General for the Security and Multilateral Section from 2005 to 2009. From 2009 to 2012 he was the Czech Ambassador to NATO, between 2012 and 2018 he was the Czech Ambassador to the EU, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic in COREPER II. From 2018 to the present, he served as Director General for the Security and Multilateral Section. Martin Povejšil was a recipient of the State Security Council Award.

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