President Petr Pavel delivered a speech to foreign diplomats based in Czechia on 27 October 2026, at the traditional meeting held ahead of the 28 October state holiday. He described increasing pressure on Russia, tightening sanctions and further strengthening support for Ukraine as a political necessity.[1][2]
Ukraine and the International Order
Pavel thanked the countries setting an example in helping Ukraine and said that Russia could only be brought to negotiate through joint action.[1] He said Ukraine's capitulation would have far-reaching consequences for everyone. He also said: „Pokud chceme, aby nás pravidla chránila i zítra, musíme být připraveni je bránit už dnes.“[1][2] According to the president, the system of international law is being openly challenged, and rules are often ignored once they become inconvenient.[1][2]
Cooperation and the Role of Smaller States
Pavel called on world powers to recognise that greater power comes with greater responsibility. He said smaller and medium-sized states also play a crucial role, as cooperation can ensure their voices are heard. He named the security of supply chains and climate change as areas requiring cooperation.[1][2]
The president said Czechia wants to build reliable partnerships. He mentioned the country's strong industrial base, talented people, innovative companies and top scientists, and urged ambassadors to seek opportunities in the country for their governments, businesses and societies.[1][2]
Attendance
In previous years, the president's wife Eva Pavlová and the foreign minister traditionally attended the meeting. Pavlová was also present on 27 October 2026, but Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motoristé sobě) was absent from the event.[1][2]
President Pavel's Address Before the State Decorations Ceremony
On 28 October 2026, President Petr Pavel delivered a speech in the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle before the presentation of state decorations marking the state holiday. In it, he said that politicians were failing to fulfil their responsibilities in the areas of security, public finances, care for the landscape and the shape of public debate.[3]
On public finances, he said: „Dluh sám o sobě není selháním.“ He added that the state borrows more than a billion crowns a day to pay even for things we have become accustomed to consuming, and that the cost of greater comfort is being passed on to children.[4] On care for the landscape, he said this year's extreme droughts would recur with greater intensity and frequency, and that society was not prepared for them.[4]
Pavel criticised the diversion of attention through “smokescreens” onto inconsequential topics, saying that amid the current information chaos it was necessary to build trust in established brands and authorities, rather than waging war against them or even disrupting the media space through ill-considered changes.[3][4] He said there was too little plain talk about risks in politics, and too little courage: „Skutečná odvaha totiž nespočívá v tom, že jdeme proti oponentům. Ale ve schopnosti hájit i to, co není populární, ale pro zemi důležité a správné.“[3] He said the government, lawmakers and representatives of regions and municipalities must not waste the time during which they have been entrusted with responsibility for the country's future. He welcomed the fact that Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) shares and discusses this view with him.[3]
Order of Tomáš Masaryk In Memoriam for Vladimír Vochoč
Vochoč was a Czechoslovak diplomat, lawyer and university lecturer. He was appointed consul in Marseille at the beginning of 1938. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after the occupation of the Czech lands he ignored German demands to hand over the consulate and joined the foreign resistance. After the defeat of France, he kept the consulate running; it was the only one in unoccupied France that allowed thousands of refugees to leave the country. Despite the threat of arrest, he issued false passports and other documents. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he helped save more than two thousand people, including Franz Werfel, Lion Feuchtwanger, Heinrich Mann, Alma Mahler and Adolf Hoffmeister.[3][4]
After the communist coup, Vochoč was detained in December 1948 and acquitted of the charges in April 1949. In September 1953 he was arrested by the StB (State Security), and in March 1954 he was sentenced to 13 years in prison and confiscation of property; he was released under an amnesty in 1960. He died on 4 January 1985 in Prague. In 2016, the Israeli memorial Yad Vashem recognised him with the title Righteous Among the Nations, and on New Year's Day 2026 a memorial plaque to him was unveiled in Třebechovice pod Orebem.[3][4]
On 28 October 2026, President Petr Pavel posthumously conferred the Order of Tomáš Masaryk, 2nd Class, on diplomat Vladimír Vochoč (1894–1985). Vochoč came from Třebechovice pod Orebem. The decoration was awarded for outstanding merit in promoting democracy, humanity and human rights. It was one of 51 state decorations awarded on the occasion of the state holiday.[3][4]
Further Details on the Life of Vladimír Vochoč
Vladimír Vochoč graduated from the Faculty of Law at Charles University and entered the diplomatic service in 1919. He became consul in Marseille at the beginning of 1938, with jurisdiction also covering Monaco. From February to June 1940 he was attached to the Czechoslovak legation in Paris.[4][3]
In Marseille he worked with the American journalist Varian Fry, who organised the rescue of persecuted people; Fry passed him lists of those at risk, and Vochoč issued documents accordingly. He also arranged financial and social assistance for refugees and Czechoslovak soldiers. In March 1941 he was detained by French police under German pressure. He made his way via Lisbon to London, where he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czechoslovak exile government, and after the war he served in the Czechoslovak delegation to the founding conference of the United Nations in San Francisco.[4]
Chronology
- — President Petr Pavel, at the state holiday ceremony at Prague Castle, posthumously awarded the Order of Tomáš Masaryk, 2nd class, to diplomat Vladimír Vochoč, a native of Třebechovice pod Orebem, who as consul in Marseille during the Second World War helped save thousands of people from Nazi persecution. Deník: Královéhradecký kraj Hradecká Drbna
- — In a speech to foreign diplomats ahead of the 28 October public holiday, President Petr Pavel called increasing pressure on Russia, tightening sanctions and further strengthening support for Ukraine a political necessity. ČTK / České noviny iDNES.cz
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 27 October 2026
- iDNES.cz — 27 October 2026
- Deník: Královéhradecký kraj
- Hradecká Drbna — 29 October 2026