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About the event:

Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the U.S.: Hynek Kmoníček
Ambassador of Hungary to the U.S.: H.E. Szabolcs Takács
Ambassador of Poland to the U.S.: Marek Magierowski
Ambassador of Slovakia to the U.S.: Radovan Javorčík

• 11:30am – 12pm – Registration
• 12 – 12:30pm – Lunch is served
• 12:30 – 1:30pm – Program

For centuries, the people of Central and Eastern Europe have been frequently impacted, or at times even repressed, by the major European powers to their West and the Russians to their East. But now, 30 years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, many of these nations have made incredible strides: to grow and diversify their economies, to strengthen and open their political systems, and to dramatically improve the quality of life of their citizens.

The Council is honored to host the Ambassadors to the U.S. of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Together the four nations are known as the Visegrad Group or V4; and they work together in a number of fields of common interest within the all-European integration. Located at the heart of Europe, the nations of the V4 have a collective population of about 65 million people, a combined GDP of over $2 trillion, and some of the fastest growing economies in the European Union.

Along with the great successes of the last 30 years, the V4 nations continue to expand their global influence, but also face ongoing challenges, such as the dire threat of war next door between Ukraine and Russia.

About the speakers:

• Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the U.S.: Hynek Kmoníček
  • Before his appointment and since 2013, Ambassador Kmoníček worked as the Director of the Foreign Affairs Department in the Office of the President of the Czech Republic. His diplomatic career has spanned more than two decades since he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, specifically its Department for Middle East and Africa, in 1995. He worked in different positions such as the Director of North Africa and Middle East Department, the Director General for Asia, Africa, and America, and the Deputy Foreign Minister in two different periods. He served as the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Australia, India and the United Nations in New York. Before joining the foreign service, the Ambassador studied English and Arabic Language Studies at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, and Modern History of the Middle East and Hebrew and Arabic Languages Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. He enjoys cooking ethnic cuisine, collecting the hottest sauces on this planet, and writing for various magazines and newspapers.Hynek Kmonicek is also the Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Jamaica and Antigua & Barbuda.
• Ambassador of Hungary to the U.S.: H.E. Szabolcs Takács
  • H.E. Szabolcs Takács – Ambassador of Hungary. Takács was born in Budapest and spent his childhood moving throughout Hungary and the former Yugoslavia. Takács has an extensive history in serving in public office since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2002. Before accepting his post in Washington, he served as Ministerial Commissioner for Brexit in Hungary. He also held roles as Minister of State for European Union Policies and Coordination and he was State Secretary for European Union affairs. He served as Deputy State Secretary for Security Policy (Political Director) and as Deputy State Secretary for Global Affairs. He led the Asia-Pacific Department as Director General and he was Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Hungary in Doha, Qatar. Takács has a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from the University of Zagreb and a master’s in political sciences, also in European studies and law form the University of Pécs. He helds an MA in International Relations from Corvinus University of Budapest.
• Ambassador of Poland to the U.S.: Marek Magierowski
  • Marek Magierowski was born in 1971. He graduated from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan with a degree in Hispanic Studies. He worked as a reporter, editor and columnist for over 20 years. He was, among others, the deputy head of the economic desk at “Gazeta Wyborcza,” the head of the foreign affairs desk and the business section at the “Newsweek Polska” weekly, and the deputy editor-in-chief of “Forum.” From 2006-2011, he was the deputy editor-in-chief of “Rzeczpospolita.” He regularly wrote columns on foreign policy for the “Uważam Rze” and “Do Rzeczy” weeklies. In October 2015, he left journalism to work for the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland as an expert on public diplomacy, and was subsequently appointed Head of the Press Office of the Chancellery of the President. From June 2017 to May 2018, he served as Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Marek Magierowski served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to the State of Israel from June 25, 2018, to November of 2021

• Ambassador of Slovakia to the U.S.: Radovan Javorčík
  • Radovan Javorčík has assumed his duties as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic to the United States of America in January 2021.
    After graduating from the Slovak Technical University (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering) and Institute of International Relations at the Comenius University in Bratislava, he joined the Office of the President of the Slovak Republic in Press and later Foreign Policy Department. Since 1995 he is loyal to the Slovak Foreign Service.
    At the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs he held a position of Deputy Director of the Policy Planning Department. After posting at the Slovak Permanent Mission to NATO (1998-2002), he continued to work on NATO files as a team leader and later Deputy Director for Security Policy. He was part of a team preparing Slovakia’s accession to NATO, mainly in capacity of the Head of PRENAME (Preparation for NATO Membership Programme). His next posting at the Slovak Embassy in London (2005-2009) included duties of a Charge d‘Affaires a.i. (2005-2007). He then served as Director of Department for North America and Wider Middle East and again as Director for Security Policy. Later he assumed duties as the Slovak Ambassador in Israel (2011-2015). After serving as the Head of the Cabinet of two Deputy Foreign Ministers, he returned to Brussels in 2017 as Ambassador and Permanente Representative of the Slovak Republic on the North Atlantic Council (NATO). Mr. Javorčík is married to a fellow Slovak diplomat Michelle Joanne Javorčíková with whom they have two sons. He speaks fluent English, Czech, Russian and understands French and colloquial German and Spanish.