Martin Bútora

Advisor to the President of the Slovak Republic, Founder and Honorary President of Institute for Public Affairs

Martin Bútora is Honorary President of the Institute for Public Affairs and Program Director of 'European Integration and Transatlantic Relations' Program. He has worked as a university teacher, diplomat and Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the United States (1999-2003).

Mr. Bútora is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts of the Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia, holding a degree in sociology. In November 1989, Mr. Bútora was one of the founders of the political movement Public Against Violence.

In 1990- 1992, he was Human Rights Advisor to President of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic Václav Havel and Director of the Human Rights Section in the Office of the President. In the early 1990s, he lectured at Charles University in Prague (where he holds a position of Professor Habilis since 1992) and later at the Department of Political Science, Trnava University (1993 - 1998).

In 1997, he co-founded the Institute for Public Affairs and served as its first president. Mr. Bútora is an author of three works of fiction, several TV programmes and film scripts and translations of theatrical plays. In 1999, National Endowment for Democracy awarded him Democracy Service Medal. In 2000 he received Ján Papánek medal and in 2002 a Celebration of Freedom Award by the American Jewish Committee. In the same year, he received the Order of Ľudovít Štúr for his contribution to defence of human rights and development of civil society from President of the Slovak Republic.