Europe and the Soviet Union
Rudolf V. Perina: From Czechoslovakia to American Diplomacy
Smuggled across the Czechoslovak border as a child; later led U.S. missions across Europe.
- Fled
- Czechoslovakia
- Status
- Refugee
- Arrived in the U.S.
- 1951
- Service
- Ambassador to Moldova (1998 to 2001); Chief of Mission, Belgrade; Deputy Director of Policy Planning
- Region
- Europe and the Soviet Union
After the Communist coup in Czechoslovakia, Rudolf Perina's family was smuggled across the border in 1950. They lived as refugees in Switzerland and Morocco before reaching the United States in 1951.
He made a career in the Foreign Service. He served as Chief of Mission in Belgrade, as Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Canadian Affairs, as Ambassador to Moldova, as Special Negotiator for Nagorno-Karabakh, and as Deputy Director of Policy Planning, and later as chargé d'affaires in Armenia, Iceland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
Read the history behind this story on the Czechoslovakia page, or browse all the diplomats.