Events 2009
Radio Free Europe Officially Opens Its Headquarters
RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin at the openingceremony for RFE/RL's new broadcast center in Prague © RFE/RL
May 13, 2009
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) officially opened its new state-of-the-art headquarters at Hagibor in Prague. RFE/RL’s 500 employees began their gradual move to the facility six months ago, Radio Free Iraq made its first broadcast from its new studio in February.
“This is not just a new RFE/RL headquarters, this is also a monument to freedom that will be recognized around the world,” said RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin.
RFE/RL broadcasts in 28 languages for 30 million listeners in 21 countries like Russia, Belarus, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tadzhikistan, and Turkmenistan in which the U.S. supports the development of democracy. Originally situated in Munich, Germany, RFE/RL moved in 1995 to the former seat of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly in Prague. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, RFE/RL sought to relocate to a secure facility in a less conspicuous part of Prague.
A U.S. government initiative established the Board of Broadcasting Governors, which oversees Radio Free Europe, in 1949. RFE’s task was to foster the free flow of information in European socialist countries. In 1975, Radio Free Europe merged with Radio Liberty, which broadcast to the countries in the former Soviet Union, excluding the Baltics.
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