Jaroslav Olša, jr.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to the Republic of the Philippines

Born 4 August 1964

Married to Michaela Vovková (diplomat), one son.

Education
1985 - 1995	Arabic, Asian and African Studies, Charles University, Prague
1990 - 1992	International Relations and Comparative European Social Studies, University of Amsterdam
1988	Arabic Language, Bourghiba Institute of Living Languages, Tunis
Awards
2012	Honorary Citizen of Seoul (conferred by Hon. Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, for the contribution to the cultural development of the capital city of the Republic of Korea) 29 Oct 2012, Honorary Citizens' Day Ceremony, Seoul
2011	The Mark Palmer Prize for Diplomats (conferred by the Intl. Steering Committee of the Community of Democracies to diplomats who has advanced the cause of democracy) 1 July 2011, 6th Ministerial of Community of Democracies, Vilnius
Work Experience
July 2014 – December 2018	Ambassador E+P of the Czech Republic to the Republic of the Philippines resident in Manila concurrently accredited also to: the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Nauru
Aug 2008 – July 2014	Ambassador E+P of the Czech Republic to the Republic of Korea (4 Sep 2008) resident in Seoul
Apr 2007 - Jan 2008	acting director, Policy Planning Dept.
Oct 2006 - Apr 2007	deputy director, Policy Planning Dept.
May 2000 - Aug 2006	Ambassador E+P of the Czech Republic to the Rep. of Zimbabwe (11 May 2000) resident in Harare concurrently accredited also to: the Republic of Mozambique (Nov 2000), the Republic of Angola (Dec 2000), the Democratic Rep. of São Tomé et Príncipe (May 2001), the Republic of Zambia (Dec 2002), and the Republic of Malaŵi (Oct 2003)
May 1999:	appointed Ambassador
Oct 1998 - Oct 1999	director, African Department
May 1997 - Oct 1998	deputy director, Dept. of the Middle East and Africa
Feb 1996 - May 1997	director, African Department
Feb 1993 - Jan 1996	advisor to the First Deputy Minister (in charge of arms trade, arms control and related items)
June 1992 - Jan 1993	desk officer, Dept. of the Middle East and North Africa
June 1992:	joined diplomatic service
Mar 1990 - Jan 1991	dep. editor-in-chief, Ikarie science fiction monthly, Prague
July 1985 - Aug 1986	freelance translator and interpreter, Prague
Aug 1984 - June 1985	researcher, Res. Inst. of Mathematical Machines, Prague
Sep 1983 - June 1984	lighting technician, Interhotel Jalta, Prague

    Diplomatic experience

• Dean of European group of the Diplomatic corps in the Rep. of Korea – Seoul 2014
• Running local Czech EU Presidency in the Republic of Korea – Seoul 2009
• In charge or preparation of the first and only self-standing European Union-Republic of Korea summit during the Czech EU Presidency – Seoul 2009
• Vice Dean of the Diplomatic Corps – Harare 2005-2006
• Responsible for establishing the diplomatic relations of the Czech Republic with the Pacific countries - 1990s-2000s
• Head of delegation establishing the diplomatic relations with the Republic of Liberia – Monrovia 1998
• Member of delegation establishing the diplomatic relations with Independent State of Papua New Guinea and Brunei Darussalam – Port Moresby, Bandar Seri Begawan 1995
• Head of Czech humanitarian missions to post-genocide Rwanda and Uganda - 1994
• Member and head of Czech delegations dealing with arms export and dual-use items (post-COCOM, Wassenaar arrangement etc.) – Prague, Brussels, the Hague, Vienna 1993-1996
• Responsible for creating a new system of arms export control in the Czech Republic, co-author of the respective law and regulations – Prague, 1993-1996

Other

Jaroslav Olša, jr. is also author of books and articles on history, culture and literature of Asia and Africa and historical relations of the non-European countries with the Czech Lands. He also widely wrote about science fiction and edited dozen anthologies of Czech and international science fiction. He has published in wide-range of publications such as Czech edition of National Geographic, Nový Orient (New Orient), Světová literatura (World Literature), Mezinárodní politika (Foreign Policy), Mezinárodní vztahy (International Relations). Contributed to various Czech and foreign-language encyclopedias. He was also a curator of art exhibitions, member of jury of 2011 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival and initiated numerous cultural exchanges and activities.

Selected book publications

• The Korean Peninsula after the Armistice as Seen by Czechoslovak Delegates to the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (1953-1956) (with Seungju Hong and Sa Jongmin) – in English and Korean
  Seoul: Seoul Museum of History 2013.
• Han Hŭng-su – Father of Czechoslovak Korean Studies. Korean Historian in Central Europe of the 1930s and 1940s (with Miriam Löwensteinová) – in Czech
  Prague: Nová vlna 2013.
• Czech-Korean Film Encounters. History of interaction between the two cinematographies from the 1930´s to today. – in English and Korean
  Seoul: Korean Film Archive 2013.
• 1901 photographs of Seoul by Enrique Stanko Vráz and other early Czech travellers´ views of Korea - book on history of Czech exploration of Korea until World War II - in English and Korean
  Seoul: Seoul Museum of History 2011.
• Short Stories of Czech Classics (with Ivana Bozděchová) – anthology of Czech fiction from the late 19th and early 20th century - in Korean
  Seoul: Happy Reading Books 2011.
• Behave Like a Decent Corpse (with Park Sang-joon) – anthology of Czech science fiction - in Korean
  Seoul: Happy Reading Books 2011.
• Modern Art of Zimbabwe - history of art of Zimbabwe - in English and Korean
  Seoul: Korea Foundation Cultural Center 2010.
• History of Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malaŵi(with Otakar Hulec) – concise history of three African countries - in Czech
  Prague: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny 2008.
• Four Generations of Zimbabwean Stone Sculptors – history of Zimbabwean sculpture - in Czech
  Prague: Botanická zahrada 2007.
• Rainmaker (with Mbongeni Malaba) - anthology of Zimbabwean fiction - in Czech
  Prague: DharmaGaia - Kontinenty 2003.
• Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Literature (with Ondřej Neff) - in Czech
  Prague: H+H – AFSF 1995.
• Janusz A. Zajdel: Limes Inferior - translation of political science fiction novel from Polish into Czech
  Prague: Odeon 1989, repr. Triton 2012.
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