I am closing the loop

H.E. Mr. Philippe Guex, Ambassador of Switzerland with spouse Françoise Emmenegger and twin daughters Morgane and Séverine Guex

It has been an honor for me to serve Czech-Swiss relations for the past four years. It is indeed a privilege for a Swiss diplomat to represent my country in the Czech Republic, a key Central European country whose importance has been further underlined by the war in Ukraine.

The period of my mission in the Czech Republic has been marked by a series of international crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and more recently conflicts in the Middle East. But, on the other side of the coin, we had the success of the Czech Presidency of the EU Council, with the first-ever EPC meeting held in Prague – something that will forever remain in European history.

Above all, I will take with me the memory of the solidarity of the Czech people, who opened their arms wide to almost half a million Ukrainian refugees, victims of this dreadful aggression by the Kremlin. Half a million at the beginning of the war meant 5% of the total population, the highest rate in Europe.

Due to the Czech Presidency of the EU on the one hand and the Russian aggression against Ukraine on the other, the bilateral political relations at the official level have intensified since the beginning of my mission in Prague. A highlight in this regard will be the State visit of President Pavel to Bern next November, the only State visit my government will organize this year. This visit is aimed, among others, to give the Czech Republic the attention it deserves, whose positions may have perhaps not been sufficiently taken into account in the past, in particular in connection with our relations with the Kremlin.

My four years in the Czech Republic have also enabled me to deepen the historical ties between the Swiss cantons and the Czech lands. As a child of the Cold War, I knew very little about the history of countries and regions beyond the Iron Curtain.

Let me just give you an example of how deep our historical ties are. I graduated in my 35,000-inhabitant hometown of Fribourg, whose college was founded in the 16th century by the Jesuit Pierre Canisius, the same Pierre Canisius who founded the Klementinum in Prague a few years earlier. Another example – it was an Italian-speaking Swiss who was the architect of the 17th-century Baroque Černín Palace, currently the Czech Foreign Ministry’s headquarters. There are dozens of these examples that you can discover in a book by Swiss historian Denis Dumoulin published by Czech editor Argo, entitled “Mezi českým Ivem a helvétským křížem”.

It is with a lump in my throat that I am closing the Czech chapter of my career. And this chapter is particularly important as it marks the end of my career – a 35-year career that has taken me to Paris, London, Luxembourg, Brussels (European Union), Belgrade together with Podgorica, and finally Prague.

Nothing in the world would have made me prefer a different career. But I cannot hide the fact that, after 35 years, I feel like I am closing the loop. And I am very much looking forward to my new post-professional life, which will be re-oriented towards arts, visual arts, and performing arts. But don’t worry, I am not going to be on stage, but only behind the stage curtain.

For sure, Prague and the Czech Republic will remain deeply anchored in my heart, as well as in my spouse Françoise’s heart.

Vive la Suisse! At’ žije Česká republika! Long live Switzerland and the Czech Republic!

Prague, 1st August 2024