Jiří Schneider is the Executive Director of Aspen Institute Central Europe. From 1990 to 1992 he was a Member of the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly. Since 1993 he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic; he served as Ambassador to Israel (1995-1998) and the First Deputy Foreign Minister (2010-2014). He was closely associated with the Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI), Program Director (2005-2010) and Senior Fellow and Director of Special Projects (2014-2015). He graduated at The Czech Technical University (ČVUT) and obtained a Diploma in Religious Studies from University of Cambridge.