One of the most fascinating political personalities of our times — Karel Kovanda — will be speaking at BSIS on Tuesday, 20 November 11h-13h, hosted by the ‘States,Markets, and Societies’ module (on a session titled ‘The Folly of the Nation-State’). All are welcome to attend.
Karel Kovanda was the first to employ publicly the term genocide in an official UN meeting – with reference to the Rwanda civil war in 1994, when he served as Ambassador representing the Czech republic as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. His political career spans from the last years of the communist era to his recent involvement in EU foreign policy. After his talk he will answer any questions students may have regarding his lecture or his vast policy experience.
Amb. Kovanda served as Deputy Director General of External Relations in the European Commission from April 2005 until the end of 2010. His areas of responsibility included the European common foreign and security policy; multilateral relations and human rights; relations with developed countries outside the EU, such as those of North America, East Asia, Australia et al. Amb Kovanda simultaneously served as the European Commission’s Political Director, in bilateral as well as G8 contexts. Prior to joining the European Commission, Amb Kovanda was a senior diplomat in the Czech Foreign Service from 1991 to 2005. He served as ambassador to NATO and to the UN, including leading his country’s delegation as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (1994-95). Amb Kovanda holds a PhD in political science from MIT.