NEWS

The Slovak AeroMobil was presented to an appreciative audience at the Slovak Embassy EU Open House on May 9 by Peter Kolesár of the Business and Innovation Unit. Friends of Slovakia procured a scale model of the AeroMobil and will sponsor its display for the next three years as part of a traveling exhibit aimed […]

In 2014 Friends of Slovakia will commemorate several critically important events in recent Slovak history through its popular Wall of Honor plaque program. The program offers individuals, organizations, and businesses a unique and personalized way to honor family, friends, and associates, while also supporting a wide range of FOS activities. The FOS Wall of Honor, […]

The spring of 2004 was momentous in the history of independent Slovakia. On May 1st of that year, the country joined the EU. Coming as it did less than five weeks after Slovakia joined NATO, this marked the culmination of a long process that was highly uncertain in the 1990s. A decade later, we can now reflect on what enabled Slovakia to join these European and trans- Atlantic structures, and how the subsequent integration has fared.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate our ally and friend, the Republic of Slovakia, on her 20th anniversary of independence. In two brief decades, Slovakia has dramatically transitioned to an independent, democratic, and economically viable free nation. As some of my colleagues may know, my great grandparents emigrated from Slovakia to the United States […]

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.

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 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.