Karel Schwarzenberg

Who is Karel Schwarzenberg?

Karel Schwarzenberg or Karel, Prince of Schwarzenberg, 12th Prince Schwarzenberg and 7th Prince Schwarzenberg, Duke of Krumlov born 10 December 1937, is a Czech politician and the leader of TOP 09 party.

Schwarzenberg served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic from July 2010 to 10 July 2013. Nominated originally by the Green Party, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs already from 2007 to 2009. He served as Senator for one of Prague districts from 2004 to 2010. In May 2010, he was elected Member of the Chamber of Deputies, gaining the largest number of preference votes. He was a candidate for President of the Czech Republic in the 2013 presidential election, and qualified for the second round. He ultimately finished second, receiving 45.19% of the votes. Schwarzenberg is noted for his pro-European views.

Schwarzenberg has been the head of the House of Schwarzenberg, a formerly leading family of the Habsburg realm, since 1979. He is a relative of Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, a leading statesman of the Austrian Empire. From 1948 to 1990, he lived in Austria, where he was involved in politics for the Austrian People's Party and became a noted critic of human-rights violations in the eastern bloc, chairing the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. Following the fall of communism, he became a close adviser to Václav Havel and relocated to Prague.