Jiří Schneider

First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Secretary of State for the European Union. Previously Program Director at the Prague Security Studies Institute (2005–2010) and Partner at Keynote Inc. (2007–2010). Former Political Director and Director of the Policy Planning Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1993–1994, 1999–2001, 2003), Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Israel (1995–1998). He served as an International Policy Fellow at the Open Society Institute in Budapest (2002) and as Member of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly (1990–1992). Prior to 1989 and his entry into public service, he was employed as a forestry surveyor. Jiří Schneider holds a Diploma in Religious Studies from the University of Cambridge.