NextGen Webinar: Future Challenges to European Defence Cooperation

Dr Jiří Šedivý

Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency,

Jiří Šedivý has served as Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA) since May 2020, bringing with him extensive experience in the defence domain. He served as Defence Minister of the Czech Republic and subsequently as NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning (2007–2010) and Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to NATO (2012–2019).Dr Šedivý is a graduate of Charles University, Prague, where he earned a PhD in Political Science, and of King’s College London, where he earned an MA in War Studies. From 2004 to 2006 he was Professor of Security Studies at the George C Marshall European Center for Security Studies, lecturing on topics such as defence sector transformation, civil-military relations and national strategy-making.

Between 1999 and 2004, he was Director of the Institute of International Relations in Prague, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Charles University, Prague, and Professor of European Security at New York University, Prague Centre.