Prague, Sept 27 (CTK) – Cross-country skiing Olympic medallist Kveta Jeriova-Peckova, historian Petr Cornej, translator and U.S. studies expert Josef Jarab and renowned dermatologist Petr Arenberger were among the 16 personalities presented with the Senate Silver Medal on the eve of the Czech Statehood Day on Wednesday.
The commemorative medal was given to them by Milan Stech (Social Democrats, CSSD), chairman of the Senate, the upper house of parliament.
He said the awarded personalities are genuine patriots who have helped improve the quality of life in the Czech Republic and contributed to spreading the country’s good name abroad.
Cornej said on behalf of the awarded that they consider the award an appreciation of their life work and public stances.
He said the laureates differ from each other by their age and profession, but all of them desire to benefit the society in accordance with the values they espouse.
The awarded personalities also include the long-standing head of the Czech Tourists’ Club, Jan Havelka, oncologist Jitka Abrahamova, thyroid surgeon Josef Dvorak, geneticist Jiri Forejt, transplantology expert and vascular and liver surgeon Vladislav Treska, sculptor Zdenek Kolarsky and outstanding glass maker Vlastimil Dvorak.
Furthermore, the medal went to Jan Rybar, a priest persecuted and imprisoned by the pre-1989 communist regime, a former partisan and logopedist Frantisek Synek, and war veteran Josef Svarc, who fought on the Western Front in WWII, survived the Normandy landing and was persecuted by the communists after the war.
Entrepreneurs Antonin Machala, whose company produces devices that help the disabled, and Jan Prochazka, whose firm has developed a progressive lithium battery, were also awarded.
The Day of Czech Statehood, a national holiday, is September 28, the anniversary of the assassination of Premyslid Prince Wenceslas I, the saint patron of Bohemia, in 935.
