NEWS

John Palka, scion of one of the most distinguished families in the history of Slovakia, has written a masterful account of Slovakia’s history. The Hodža and Palka families played a significant role in Slovakia’s history. John Palka’s mother was the daughter of Milan Hodža, the last prime minister of interwar Czechoslovakia. Mr. Palka attended the […]

Martin Bútora, who served as the Slovak ambassador to the United States from 1999 to 2003 and was one of the key figures behind the Freedom Lecture Series, delivered the 2012 Annual Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture on November 16. A capacity crowd filled the Woodrow Wilson Center auditorium to hear his reflections on “20 Years of Independence: Reflections on Freedom and Democracy.” Following the lecture, Joe Senko, the Chairman of Friends of Slovakia, and Ted Russell, the Founding Chairman Ambassador presented Ambassador Bútora with the FOS Medal of Honor. Tom Dine, the President of American Friends of the Czech Republic, then presented the speaker with a Certificate of Appreciation.

FOS hosted a gala dinner for Martin and Zora Bútora on November 16, 2012 at the Washington Golf & Country Club following his presentation of the Annual Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture at the Wilson Center in Washington. Among the 48 guests were Slovak Ambassador Peter Kmec, Czech Ambassador Petr Gandalovič, Martin Palous, former Permanent […]

By Monika Izáková, IEIA 2012, President TFAS Slovakia, and the 2012 FOS Scholar I’ve always wanted to know and see as much as possible as well as experience and discover how things work in practice. Thanks to successful studies and several internships in government, I did pretty well in achieving this dream of mine. However, […]

In a statement released on January 20, 2010, President Barack Obama announced his nomination of Theodore Sedgwick as the new Ambassador to Slovakia. This announcement marks a significant step in furthering diplomatic relations between the United States and Slovakia. The nomination of Mr. Sedgwick was communicated to the public by Chase Beamer, the press attaché […]

On November 5, 2005, President Bush wrote a letter to Friends of Slovakia, expressing his appreciation for the friendship between Slovakia and the United States. The letter was sent on the occasion of the executive visit of President Ivan Gasparovič and Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda, who were attending a Gala Dinner in Washington, DC. It […]

On February 11, 2005, a significant forum on visa issues in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) was organized on Capitol Hill by the East Europe Project at CSIS, together with Friends of Slovakia (FOS) and American Friends of the Czech Republic (AFoCR). The meeting aimed to address the impact of current U.S. visa regulations on political and public relations with the CEE countries. Forum panelists and experts shed light on the legal intricacies of the visa issue and its implications for U.S.-CEE relations, urging for a reconsideration of the status quo.