Eduard Kukan
Encyclopedia
Eduard Kukan served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia from 1998 to 2006. He was a candidate in the presidential election held on 3 April 2004, and although pre-election polls had suggested he would come in first, he actually came in third behind former prime minister Vladimír Mečiar
and Ivan Gašparovič
, thus preventing him from contesting the run-off. He was elected member of European parliament in 2009 election.
Kukan graduated from The Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1964, where he has also gained an excellent command of the Swahili language
. After graduation he received a Doctorate in Law from the Faculty of Law of the Charles University in Prague.
Since then his employments have included:
Eduard Kukan is married and has two adult children. In addition to his native tongue and Swahili, he speaks English, Russian, and Spanish. In 1993, he was awarded an honorary law degree by the Upsala College
in New Jersey
, U.S..
Kukan is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Global Panel Foundation.
Vladimír Meciar
Vladimír Mečiar is a Slovak politician who was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 1990 to 1991, from 1992 to 1994, and from 1994 to 1998. He is the leader of the People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia...
and Ivan Gašparovič
Ivan Gašparovic
Ivan Gašparovič is a Slovak politician and law professor who has been the President of Slovakia since 15 June 2004. He is also the first Slovak president to be re-elected.-Biography:...
, thus preventing him from contesting the run-off. He was elected member of European parliament in 2009 election.
Kukan graduated from The Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1964, where he has also gained an excellent command of the Swahili language
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
. After graduation he received a Doctorate in Law from the Faculty of Law of the Charles University in Prague.
Since then his employments have included:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
in Prague (began on 1 August 1964)- Headquarters in the Department of Sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
(1964–1968) - Secretariat of the Minister (1973–1977)
- Director of the Department of Sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
(1981–1985) - Director of the Department of Latin America (1988–1990)
- Headquarters in the Department of Sub-Saharan Africa
- Czechoslovak Embassy in LusakaLusakaLusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
(1968–1973) - Czechoslovak Embassy in Washington from as Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Ambassador (1977–1981)
- Czechoslovak Embassy in Addis AbabaAddis AbabaAddis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
from as Ambassador (1985–1988) - Permanent Representative of Czechoslovakia to the United Nations in New York (1991)
- Permanent Representative of SlovakiaSlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
to the UN (1993)- UN Chairman of the Committee for Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Affairs
- Special Envoy for the BalkansBalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
(1991–2001)
- Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia (March 1994 – December 1994)
- Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia (October 1998–2006)
- Special Envoy for the Balkans (1991–2001)
- Member of European ParliamentEuropean ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
(2009–)
Eduard Kukan is married and has two adult children. In addition to his native tongue and Swahili, he speaks English, Russian, and Spanish. In 1993, he was awarded an honorary law degree by the Upsala College
Upsala College
Upsala College was a private college in East Orange, New Jersey, USA, founded in 1893. Construction of the campus started in 1900. The college closed in 1995, after several years of financial problems.-History:...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, U.S..
Kukan is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Global Panel Foundation.