At 9.30 this morning, the Holy Father Francis received in audience H.E. Mr. Václav Kolaja, ambassador of the Czech Republic at the Holy See, for the presentation of his Credential Letters.

The following is a brief biography of the new ambassador:

H.E. Mr. Václav Kolaja
Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Holy See

H.E. Mr. Václav Kolaja was born on 14 June 1971 in Uherské Hradištĕ.

He is married with two children.

He graduated in history from the Charles University, Prague, in 1996, and has held the following positions: officer in the Department of Diplomatic Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1996-1997); officer in the Department for Political Relations with the European Union at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1997-2000); embassy secretary in London (2000-2004); head of the Legal and Institutional Section of the Czech Permanent Representation at the European Union in Brussels (2004-2009); responsible for North America at the MFA (2009-2011); head of the Embassy’s Political Section in Washington D.C. (2011-2015); IT security coordinator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2015-2016); and deputy minister of Foreign Affairs (from 1 June 2016).