Jiří Navrátil
| Jiří Navrátil | |
|---|---|
| President of Junák |
Jiří Navrátil (born 10 September 1923 in Leipzig) served as the President of Junák, the Czech Scout and Guide association.
Navrátil was born in Germany where his father was a consul. In 1937 he became a Scout in Prague. He was arrested and held several months by the Gestapo during World War II. In 1949, he tried to oppose the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia with other Scouts. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and was released in 1960.
During the Prague Spring in 1968, Navrátil was one of the refounders of Junák, the Czech Scout movement, which was suppressed again in 1970. Following the Velvet Revolution in 1989, he became one of the main Leaders of the third restoration of Junák.
He was one of the facilitators of the 1999 10th European Conference of Guiding and Scouting in Prague, in which President Václav Havel gave the opening speech.
In 2002, Navrátil was awarded the 292nd Bronze Wolf, the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world Scouting.[1][2]