- Jiří Gruša
Jiří Gruša (b.
April 10 ,1938 ,Pardubice ) is a Czech poet, writer, translator, diplomat and politician.He graduated from the Philosophical Faculty of
Charles University in Prague . He worked for periodicals "Tvář", "Sešity" and "Nové knihy". In 1968, he was banned from publishing and had to work in a construction cooperative. He took part in distribution ofsamizdat literature. Between 1982 and 1990, he lived in theFederal Republic of Germany . In 1990, he returned to Czechoslovakia and worked for the Ministry of foreign affairs. In 1991–1997, he served as an ambassador to Germany. Later he joined the minority government ofVáclav Klaus as a Minister of Education. The government lost support of the opposition parties and PresidentVáclav Havel orchestrated establishment of a new caretaker government. Event though Gruša was a non-party minister, he was replaced byJan Sokol . He served as an ambassador toAustria . Currently, he is the President ofInternational PEN and Director of theDiplomatic Academy of Vienna .He participated in standardization of the term "Tschechien" as the official name of the
Czech Republic inGerman language . SeeNames of the Czech Republic for overview.External links
* [http://www.prague-tribune.cz/2005/6/4.htm Prague Tribune info]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
