The diplomatic relations between the Czech Republic and Greece were established at the same time as the Czechoslovak Federative Republic was split as of 1st January 1993. Diplomatic relations with the former Czechoslovak Republic were established soon after it came into existence, in 1920.

On 3rd March 1920 the Greek Embassy in Rome informed the local Czechoslovak representative body that Mr. Charalambos Simopoulos was designed Greek Envoy. He was granted agrément on 22nd March 1920. As there is no direct act of the establishment of diplomatic relations and even the day of receiving the telegram with the agrément for the Greek Envoy is not quite clear, it can be said that the act of handing over the credentials by the Greek Envoy on 25th May 1920 undoubtedly results in the fact that the diplomatic relations were established. The representative body of the Czechoslovak Republic in Athens took up its activity on 8th April 1922, when the first Czechoslovak Envoy Karel Mečíř handed over the credentials to the Hellenic King.

 

The first Czechoslovak Envoy in Greece Karel Mečíř

After 15th March 1939 the diplomatic relations were broken and the Embassy of the Czechoslovak Republic was used by Germans. The relations were resumed on 3rd June 1942 when the Hellenic King granted agrément to the Envoy P. Baráček-Jacquier. At the time when the Greek government was moved to Egypt as a result of war operations, J. Šejnoha was accredited by the exile government based in Cairo. After his withdrawal the Czechoslovak government decided on 23rd September 1946 to cease posting new diplomatic representatives to Greece. Activities of the Czechoslovak representation body were interrupted until 23rd February 1945. During 1945-1949 only the Czechoslovak Bureau for Mediation of the Relations of the Czechoslovak Embassy in Cairo carried out its duties in Athens. This Bureau was authorized to represent Czechoslovak interests in Greece. During 1954-1956 the representation in Athens was upgraded to the level of chargé d´affaires a.i., from 5th September 1956 to the level of envoys.
 

The foreside of the Czechoslovak representation at Sekeri street in the centre of Athens
(picture of May 1956)

On 10th September 1964 a decision of both countries to promote their present representations to embassies was announced. From then on the diplomatic relations have been developed at the level of ambassadors. After the split of the Czechoslovak Federative Republic, the office had been temporarily run at the chargé d´affaires a.i. level (from January 1993 until April 1994).