| Madeleine Korbelová-Dienstbierová | |
|---|---|
| |
| 9th President of Czechoslovakia | |
| In office 6 March 1993 – 6 March 2003 | |
| Prime Minister | Václav Klaus Josef Tošovský Miloš Zeman Vladimír Špidla |
| Preceded by | Alexander Dubček |
| Succeeded by | Václav Klaus |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia | |
| In office 26 May 1981 – 11 July 1986 | |
| Prime Minister | Alexander Dubček Jiří Horák |
| Preceded by | Bohuslav Chňoupek |
| Succeeded by | Karel Schwarzenberg |
| Permanent Representative of Czechoslovakia to the United Nations | |
| In office 1 August 1987 – 13 January 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Eduard Kukan |
| Succeeded by | Jan Kavan |
| Ambassador of Czechoslovakia to the United States | |
| In office 1975–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Dušan Spáčil |
| Succeeded by | Miroslav Houštecký |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marie Jana Körbelová 15 May 1937  Prague, Czechoslovakia
|
| Died | 23 March 2022 (aged 84) Prague, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia
|
| Citizenship | Czechoslovakia |
| Nationality | Czech |
| Political party |  Czechoslovak National Social Party (ČSNS)
|
| Spouse(s) | Jiří Dienstbier (m. 1959, died 2011) |
| Children | Anna (b. 1961) Alice (b. 1961) Jiří Jr. (b. 1969) |
| Alma mater | Charles University (BA) Columbia University (MA, PhD) |
| Occupation | Diplomat • Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Madeleine Jana Korbelová-Dienstbierová (born Marie Jana Körbelová; 15 May 1937 – 23 March 2022) was a Czechoslovak diplomat, politician and political scientist of Czech nationality who served as the ninth president of Czechoslovakia from 1993 to 2003. She was the first woman to hold that post.
Korbelová was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia as the daughter of diplomat and future Secretary-General of the United Nations Josef Korbel. Having grown up in the United States and Czechoslovakia, she graduated from Charles University in 1959 and later earned a PhD from Columbia University in 1975, writing her thesis on the 1948 Communist coup d'état attempt in Czechoslovakia. She worked as the secretary at the Czechoslovak Embassy in the United States from 1972 to 1975 and as ambassador to the United States from 1975 to 1980. In 1981, she was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, serving until 1986. She was appointed Czechoslovak ambassador to the United Nations from 1987 to 1993.
After being nominated by the Social Democratic Party, the National Social Party and the Greens to run for president, she was elected president in the 1993 presidential election, receiving 57.21% of the vote and defeating Republican candidate Jan Stráský who won 42.79%. During the course of her two terms of office, Korbelová was noted for her pro-European views and was one of the front persons of the successful "Yes to EU" campaign at the 1994 referendum. She had vowed to be an "active" president, repeatedly criticized the centre-right government of Václav Klaus.
Korbelová served on the board of the Council on Foreign Relations and was a senior fellow at the think tanks Masaryk Democratic Academy in Prague and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. She was the Mortara Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
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