PCTR team
Alexandr Vondra
CHAIRMAN OF THE PCTR BOARD
Dr. Alexandr Vondra (PhD in Geography, Charles University, Prague) is the Honorary Chairman of the Prague Centre for Transatlantic Relations at CEVRO College in Prague. He is also the Honorary President of the Czech Euro-Atlantic Commission and former member of the Supervisory Board of Czech Aeroholding company.
FromIn the years 2006 to 2012, he washeld the office of a senator in the Czech Parliament (Civic Democratic Party, ODS). Prior to that he had served as a Foreign Policy Advisor to President Havel (1990–1992), the First Deputy Foreign Minister (1992–1997), the Czech Ambassador to the U.S. (1997–2001), and theand Czech Government Commissioner for 2002 Prague NATO Summit,. Moreover, he was also appointed the Czech He served as Foreign Minister (2006–2007), Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs (2007–2009) and Minister of Defence (2010–2012) in the Czech government. Since 2019, he has served as a Member of the European Parliament. In 1989, he was the spokesman for Charter 77 and co-founder of the Civic Forum in Czechoslovakia.
Jiří Šedivý (ret.)
MEMBER OF THE PCTR BOARD
Jiří Šedivý is a former Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, head of the Department of Security Studies at the CEVRO Institute, a guarantor of the MPA program – Security and Crisis Management, member of the Czech Euro-Atlantic Council. His specialization is security, crisis management, reform of the Czech Armed Forces, critical state infrastructure protection, energy security and other related areas. He graduated from the Land Forces College and postgraduate studies at the Military Academy Brno. As an army officer, he held many command functions in tank units (1975–1992). He studied at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania (1993–1994), including a specialized program to combat terrorism. He was Commander of the First ACR Contingent in the IFOR Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2006). He held command and staff positions in the ACR leadership (1996–2002) and ended his military career as Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces (1998–2002). He founded the consulting company Generals, s.r.o., which deals with security and project management consulting.
He has been a teacher at the CEVRO College since 2011 and Member of the PCTR Board since 2021.
Tomáš Pojar
MEMBER OF THE PCTR BOARD
Tomáš Pojar is the Vice-President (on temporary leave) of the CEVRO Institute and a security and defense consultant.
He studied political science at the Faculty of Social Studies at Charles University, and Counterterrorism Studies and Homeland Security at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Israel. In 1995 he began to work for the NGO People in Need (PIN), which he led from 1997 to 2005. In 2005, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he served as Deputy Minister for Bilateral Relations and First Deputy Minister for Security and EU Affairs and bilateral relations with European states (2006-2010). From 2010 to 2014, he was the Czech Republic ambassador to Israel.
The Czech Republic Minister of Defense awarded Tomáš Pojar by the Cross of Merit, Grade III. The World Economic Forum recognized him as Young Global Leader 2010 and the President of Albania as Ambassador of the Nation. He acts as Vice-President of the Czech-Israeli Mutual Chamber of Commerce.
Currently he is the National Security Advisor of the Czech Republic.
He is a member of the PCTR Board since 2021.
Kateřina Weissová
DIRECTOR
Kateřina Weissová graduated in sociology at Charles University, Prague. She worked as a journalist in the nineties, including as a U.S. correspondent for the most significant Czech daily, MF DNES. Kateřina interned at The American Enterprise Institute in 1998 and was a part of The New Atlantic Initiative’s effort to support NATO enlargement.
She was an Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and a member of the Czech negotiating team on missile defense. She was actively involved in strategic communication projects, especially defense and security. She served as Chief of Staff/Director General, Section of the Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2010-2013).
Furthermore, she has managed numerous successful election campaigns, drawing on her experience as a pollster, political strategy designer, and manager.
Cameron Munter
SENIOR FELLOW
Cameron Munter is a diplomat, academic, and executive who lives in Prague.
Munter studied at Cornell and earned a PhD in history from Johns Hopkins. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy, and serves on corporate and nonprofit boards around the world.
He was U.S. ambassador to Pakistan 2010-2012, and to Serbia 2007-2009. He served twice in Iraq (in Mosul and in Baghdad). In the course of three decades as a career diplomat, he was also NSC Director in the Clinton and Bush White Houses and served overseas in Warsaw, Prague, and Bonn.
After retirement from the diplomatic service, he taught at Columbia Law School and Pomona College. He then became President and CEO of the EastWest Institute in New York, and there led extensive global track-two mediation efforts. He stepped down from that post in 2019.
Daniel Koštoval
SENIOR FELLOW
Daniel Koštoval is a security and defense analyst and consultant. He also regularly contributes to media outlet INFO.CZ.
Daniel Koštoval graduated in international relations from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, in 1996. In 1996-2013, he served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Director of Security Policy Department and Department for Northern and Eastern Europe and as Director-General for non-European countries. He was posted to the Czech Permanent Delegation to NATO andwas permanent representative to the NATO Political Committee. He served at the Czech Embassy in Moscow in 2003 – 2006 and as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Czech Embassy in Washington D.C., in 2009 – 2011. He was appointed First Deputy Minister of Defense in April 2013. Subsequently, he was Deputy Minister of Defense for Strategies, Foreign Relations and Planning and afterwards for Armaments and Acquisitions until the end of 2018. The Czech Republic Minister of Defense awarded Daniel Koštoval by the Cross of Merit, Grade III. The Polish Minister of Defense awarded Daniel the Golden Medal of the Polish Republic Army. The Slovak Republic Minister of Defense awarded Mr. Koštoval the Commemorative Medal, Grade I. Daniel Koštoval is a member of the Czech Euro-Atlantic Council.
He is Senior Fellow of the PCTR since February 2021.
Michael Žantovský
SENIOR FELLOW
Michael Žantovský is a Czech diplomat, writer, politician and a psychologist. He holds a Master’s degree summa cum laude in psychology from Charles University. From 1973 -1981 he worked as a researcher for the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague.
In 1989 he co-founded and became the spokesman for the political movement Civic Forum . He went on to becomee the press secretary and political coordinator in the office of President Václav Havel.
In 1996 – 2002 he was a senator in the Czech Parliament and chairman of its Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Security. In this period, he was twice elected to lead the liberal-conservative party, Občanská demokratická aliance (ODS). He was the Ambassador of the Czech Republic in the United States (1992-1997), Israel (2003-2009) and the United Kingdom (2009-2015).
He is a prolific author, translator, journalist, and educator. He has taught American studies and Euro-American relations at Charles University, New York University of Prague, CEVRO and CERGE Institute. He recieved the Czech and Slovak Transatlantic Award and the Medal of Merit for Diplomacy from the Minister of Foreign Affairs. From 2015 to 2023, he served as the Executive Director of the Václav Havel Library. From 2012 to 2016, he was the President of the Aspen Institute Prague, and currently holds the honorary position of President of Aspen Institute Central Europe. He serves as a foreign policy advisor to President Petr Pavel.
Jaroslav Kuchyňa
SENIOR FELLOW
Jaroslav Kuchyňa is a former diplomat and intelligence officer. Before 1989, he worked for Radio Free Europe and Voice of America.
In 1990, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and until 1995 he worked as a diplomat at the Czechoslovak and later Czech Embassy in Warsaw. After his return, he headed the Central European department at the MFA.
Currently, he is concentrating on Central Europe and on terrorist threats from the Middle East region.
Roman Joch
SENIOR FELLOW
Roman Joch is a journalist and university lecturer. He studied general medicine at Charles University in Prague.
He is the chairman of the Civic Institute (Občanský Institut). In the past, he was a fellow at the Krieble Institute, as well as at the Acton Institute; and a Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute. From 2010 to 2012, he served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic on human rights and foreign policy, and from 2020 to 2023, he was the director of the Institute for Research on Work and Family in Bratislava, Slovakia.
He teaches at the University of Economics and at the CEVRO Institute. He is the author of several books and studies on political philosophy and politics, a contributor to Czech and Slovak media, and a member of the editorial board of Aspen Review Central Europe. Among his books are “Rebellion Against the Revolution of the 20th Century” on American post-war conservatism and “No, Mr. Prime Minister!” about the experience of being an advisor to the Prime Minister. He is a member of the American Philadelphia Society and a board member of the European Center for European Renewal.
Rachel Pojarová
PCTR OFFICE
Rachel Pojarová studied at the Walworth Barbour American International School in Even Yehuda, Israel. Currently, she is pursuing a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies with a focus on Arabic Studies at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague, along with a master’s in Security Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the same university.
Partners, Donors, Sponsors, and Supporters
