
Jan Havránek is deputy minister of defense of the Czech Republic, responsible for defense policy and strategy. Prior to his appointment, he was the policy adviser at the Policy Planning Unit of the office of the NATO secretary general in Brussels. He previously served as the head of the defense section at the Czech Republic’s Permanent Representation to NATO in Brussels (2014–17); assistant first deputy minister of defense (2013–14); and foreign policy advisor to the minister of defence (2010–12). In 2013 he was named to the Diplomatic Courier’s annual list of the “Top 99 Under 33 Foreign Policy Leaders.”
Havránek’s other engagements have included cooperation with GLOBSEC’s Defence Austerity V4 projects, fellowship at the Center for European Policy Analysis; and work for the Prague Security Studies Institute and the Association for International Affairs in Prague. He holds a master’s degree in international security studies from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.
The View from Prague
Czech Deputy Defense Minister Jan Havránek recently spoke with Gary J. Schmitt and Craig Kennedy about threats to democracy, to EU defense, and to transatlantic security.