Pavel Tigrid honoured in Prague

A memorial plaque was unveiled in Prague on Thursday afternoon in honour of the late journalist Pavel Tigrid, one of the most influential Czech personalities of the 20th century. The plaque will be mounted on the wall of the Old Jewish Cemetery, in the street where Mr Tigrid lived until his death in 2003. Among people attending the unveiling ceremony will be Czech President Vaclav Klaus, his predecessor Vaclav Havel and Tigrid's wife Ivana Tigridova.

Pavel Tigrid is best known for his work as a journalist and broadcaster in exile during the Cold War. He established and for a number of years headed the Czechoslovak section of Radio Free Europe. He subsequently moved to Paris, where he set up and published a magazine called Svedectvi (Witness). After the Velvet Revolution, Pavel Tigrid returned to Czechoslovakia where he worked as a Minister for Culture and later as an adviser to President Havel.

Author: Ruth Fraňková