On 28 October 2026 President Petr Pavel awarded state honours at Prague Castle, including the Order of the White Lion, Second Class, posthumously to Věra Čáslavská and Miloš Forman.

Image from the publication iDNES.cz
Image from the publication iDNES.cz, 28 October 2026

On 28 October 2026, a public holiday, President Petr Pavel awarded state honours at Prague Castle. He conferred the Order of the White Lion, Second Class, posthumously on the gymnast Věra Čáslavská and the film director Miloš Forman. The Order of the White Lion, Third Class, was received by the actress Iva Janžurová and by Helena Illnerová, a doctor of natural sciences and the first president of the Academy of Sciences.[1]

The president conferred the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Second Class, on the diplomat Vladimír Vochoč, who worked in Marseille during the Second World War and helped save thousands of people from Nazi persecution. The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk was also awarded posthumously to the dissidents Jaroslav Šedivý and Jiří Dienstbier, in their case in the Second and Third Class at once. The same honour went to the former president of the Senate Jaroslav Kubera and to Eliška Wagnerová, a former president of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. The order of the Fourth Class was awarded to the social worker and human rights activist Elena Gorolová and to one of the children rescued by Nicholas Winton.[1]

The Medal of Heroism went to five people this year. Three medals were awarded posthumously to soldiers, and one posthumously to a municipal office employee in Chřibská who rescued others during an armed attack and died. Among those honoured is also one of the last living witnesses of the Prague uprising.[1]

The Medal of Merit was received, among others, by the video creator Jiří Burýšek, who in his work popularises critical thinking and counters disinformation. From sport, the cyclist Jiří Ježek and the sport shooter Kateřina Emmons were honoured; from culture, the director Jan Hřebejk, the illustrator Marko Čermák, the actor and director Arnošt Goldflam, the playwright Ladislav Smoček and the writers Jáchym Topol and Kateřina Tučková.[1]

The Chamber of Deputies nominated 131 personalities for state honours, among them the former president Miloš Zeman and the writer Milan Kundera. According to iDNES, the Senate submitted 110 nominations, among them Alice Garrigue Masaryk, founder of the Czechoslovak Red Cross. In total, more than 200 personalities were nominated.[1]

Chronology

  • — President Petr Pavel, in his speech before the awarding of state honours in the Vladislav Hall at Prague Castle, criticised politicians for failing to fulfil their responsibility in security, public finances, care for the landscape and the shape of public debate. ČTK / České noviny Novinky.cz
  • — On 28 October 2026 at Prague Castle, President Petr Pavel conferred state decorations; the Order of the White Lion went posthumously to Věra Čáslavská and Miloš Forman, and also to Iva Janžurová and Helena Illnerová. iDNES.cz iROZHLAS
  • — On the state holiday, President Petr Pavel presented state decorations to 51 people at Prague Castle and promoted the Chief of the General Staff, Miroslav Hlaváč, to the rank of army general. Novinky.cz iDNES.cz

Sources

  1. iDNES.cz — 28 October 2026
  2. ČTK / České noviny — 28 October 2026
  3. Novinky.cz — 28 October 2026
  4. ČTK / České noviny — 28 October 2026
  5. FORUM 24 — 28 October 2026
  6. FORUM 24 — 28 October 2026