Ambassador Eisen’s Visit to Brno

March 25, 2011

Amb Eisen in Brno with Ombudsman Varvarovsky.

On March 16 to 18, U.S. Ambassador Norman Eisen visited the city of Brno. At the Moravian Library, he presented the collection Library of America. It fosters appreciation and pride in America’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, authoritative editions of some of America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America was founded in 1979. The Ambassador also toured the Foreign Affairs Department, which includes the American Library. While there, Ambassador Eisen admired one of the largest Czech collections of historical maps and was astonished to find on several centuries-old maps the municipality of Sobrance, where his ancestors lived.

During his visit to the regional capital, Ambassador Eisen also discussed corruption and ethics issues with law students at Masaryk University. He also met with Lord Mayor Roman Onderka, Ombudsman Pavel Varvarovsky, Supreme Court President Iva Brozova, and Constitutional Court President Pavel Rychetsky. The meeting topics encompassed promoting good governance, ethics and transparency; combating corruption; and fostering human rights. Ambassador Eisen also toured the Museum of 20th Century Czech and Slovak Exile, met representatives of several NGOs involved in human rights, Roma issues and the environment. At the conclusion of his visit to Brno, Ambassador Eisen visited the CSSD Party’s national convention.