• 1937 - born in Prague on 10th December 1937
• 1948 - the family is forced to leave to Austria
• 1957 - Law and Silviculture Studies at the Universities of Vienna, Munich and Graz
• from 1965 - assumption of the administration of family estates in Austria and Bavaria
• 1967 - marriage with Dr.Terezia Hardegg
• 1984-1991 - President of the International Helsinky Committee for Human Rights, awarded in 1989 together with Lech Walesa with the Human Rights Award of the Council of Europe
• 1989 - return to the homeland
• 1st January 1990 - member of the Collegium of Counsellors of President Václav Havel
• 11th July 1990 - July 1992 - Chancellor of President Václav Havel
• from 1992 - management of estates in South Bohemia
• 2002 - awarded with the Order of T.G.M. 3rd Class
• from December 2004 - Senator of the Parliament of the Czech Republic representing the 6th election district
  - member of the EU Affairs Committee of the Senate
  - member of the Permanent Delegation of the Parliament to the NATO Parliamentary assembly
• from December 2006 - Chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security Comittee of the Senate,
  - member of the Permanent Delegation of the Parliament to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
• from 9th January 2007 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

Karel Schwarzenberg has 3 children (Jan /1967/, Anna-Carolina /1968/, and Karel-Filip /1979/)