This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience His Excellency Mr. Pavel Svoboda, ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Holy See, on the occasion of the presentation of his credential letters.

The following is a brief biography of the new ambassador:

His Excellency Mr. Pavel Svoboda
Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Holy See

His Excellency Mr. Pavel Svoboda was born on 9 April 1962 in Prague.

He graduated in law from Charles University in Prague (1984) and was awarded a doctorate (1985).

He obtained a D.E.A. (Diplôme des études approfondies) from the University of Social Sciences in Toulouse, France (1992). He also studied at the Academy of International Law in The Hague (1993), and at the Academy of European Law in Florence (1994), and obtained a PhD (2009).

He has held the following roles: lawyer at the Association of Author’s Rights (1984-1989); head of the copyright department of Supraphon (1989-1991), expert assistant, Department of European Law, Faculty of Law, Charles University (since 1993), lawyer (since 1994), member of the Commission of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage for the recodification of copyright (1996 - 1999); visiting professor, University of Social Sciences, Toulouse, France, (since 2001); associate professor (reader) of European Law, Faculty of Law, Charles University (since 2001); deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Legal and Consular Affairs (2004 - 2006); ambassador to the Council of Europe (2007 - 2008); Minister - President of the Legislative Council (2009 I-V); advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs J. Kohout (2009 - 2010); chair of the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament Commission (2014 - 2019); member of the Executive Committee of the Europäischen Rechtsakademie (2015 - 2020); and advisor to the Minister for European Affairs (2022 - 2024).