Igor Lukes Awarded Czech Diplomatic Achievement Medal

Professor Igor Lukes

Igor Lukes, Professor of International Relations and History at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, has received the Medal for Merit in Diplomacy (Medaile Za zásluhy o diplomacii) from the Czech Republic’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Lipavský.

The prestigious medal, established in 2018, recognizes outstanding contributions to Czech diplomacy and foreign relations. Recipients are selected based on their exceptional or long-term impact on Czech diplomacy, foreign policy, or development of international relations between the Czech Republic and other states or international organizations.

Professor Lukes, who serves as Honorary Consul General of the Czech Republic in Boston, has dedicated decades to advancing understanding of Czech and Central European diplomatic history. His scholarly work includes seminal books examining Czech-American relations, such as “On the Edge of the Cold War: American Diplomats and Spies in Postwar Prague” (Oxford, 2012) and “Czechoslovakia Between Stalin and Hitler: The Diplomacy of Edvard Benes in the 1930s” (Oxford, 1996). His contributions to diplomatic scholarship have been recognized with the CIA’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Literature on Intelligence.

He joins a distinguished group of Medal for Merit in Diplomacy recipients including former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Prince Karel Schwarzenberg, NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson, and former German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel.

The silver medal features the Czernin Palace on its face with the inscription “For Merit in Diplomacy” and includes a commemorative pin and diploma. It is awarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to advancing Czech diplomatic relations.

Igor Lukes is a past winner of the 1997 Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 2020 winner of the Gitner Prize for Faculty Excellence at the Pardee School. He writes primarily about Central Europe. His work has won the support of various other institutions, including Fulbright, Fulbright-Hays, the Woodrow Wilson Center, IREX, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Read more about Professor Lukes on his faculty profile.