Vladimír Remek
| Vladimír Remek | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Czech Republic Ambassador to Russia | |
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Assumed office January 2014 |
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| President | Miloš Zeman |
| Preceded by | Petr Kolář |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
26 September 1948 České Budějovice, Czechoslovakia |
| Nationality | Czechoslovak, Czech |
| Spouse(s) |
Hana Davidová (divorced)
|
| Occupation | pilot, cosmonaut, Member of European Parliament, ambassador |
| Awards | |
| Signature |  |
| Website | www |
| Military service | |
| Nickname(s) | Volodya |
| Service/branch | Czechoslovak Air Force |
| Years of service | 1970–95 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | 1st Fighter Air Regiment |
| Commands | Deputy, 2nd Air Defense Division |
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| Intercosmos Cosmonaut | |
|
Time in space
|
7d 22h 17m |
| Selection | Air Force Group 6 |
| Missions | Soyuz 28 |
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Mission insignia
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Vladimír Remek (born 26 September 1948) is a Czech politician and diplomat as well as a former cosmonaut and military pilot. He flew aboard Soyuz 28 from 2 to 10 March 1978, becoming the first Czechoslovak in space and the only Czech in space. As the first cosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States, and with the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union, Remek is considered to be the first astronaut from the European Union. Remek was a member of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2013 and, since 2014, has been the Czech Ambassador to Russia.
Remek was born on 26 September 1948 in the city of České Budějovice. He spent two years studying at the observatory in Kraví hora, Brno between 1962 and 1964. Remek was influenced by his father, Jozef Remek, himself a military pilot. Remek was an active member both in the Pioneers and the Czechoslovak Union of Youth. He studied mathematics and physics at middle school in Čáslav where he earned awards in track running the 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1,500-meter events. Remek graduated in 1966 and proceeded to Vyšší Letecké Učiliště, an aviation school in Košice, where he trained in an Aero L-29 Delfín. Remek graduated in 1970 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Czechoslovak Air Force. Remek served as a fighter pilot, flying MiG-21s in the 1st Fighter Air Regiment. In the 1970s Remek married his first wife, Czech actress Hana Davidová, the daughter of politician Václav David. They had a daughter together, Anna, in 1980. He had a second daughter, Jana, three years after the first, with his second wife, also called Jana. From 1972 to 1976, Remek studied at the Gagarin Air Force Academy. Upon his return to Czechoslovakia in 1976, he was promoted to captain and appointed deputy commander of his fighter regiment, after which Remek went back to Russia to train for the Soviet-led space program. Following his return from space in March 1978, Remek spent time in the Czechoslovak People's Army (ČSLA) staff as the deputy director of the Flight Research Institute in Prague. In 1986, Remek became the deputy commander of a flight division based in Čáslav. In 1988 he graduated from Voroshilov-Staff Academy of Soviet Air Force and was appointed to his highest command, as deputy of the 2nd Air Defense Division stationed in Moravia. Following the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Remek was relegated to a role as Director of the Museum for Aviation and Astronautics in Prague. Following his retirement from the air force in 1995, Remek represented Czech firm CZ Strakonice and joint venture CZ–Turbo-GAZ in Moscow.
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