How did these interests then develop over the course of your career? For instance, how did the Arctic Festival that you co-ordinate come about? That’s always a key phrase to learn in another language. I can tell you something in Greenlandic – ‘Suli iluamik kalaallisut oqalusinnaanngilanga tamaattumik tuluttut oqalussaanga’, which means ‘I don’t speak Greenlandic well yet, that’s why I would prefer to continue in English.’ And I was awarded a Creative Grant within the Josef Jungmann Prize in 1998 for the translation of Knud Rasmussen’s ‘Myths and Legends from Greenland’. I’ve started to learn Greenlandic because I was wanting to translate some texts that were not translated to Danish otherwise, I was translating Greenlandic matters from Danish. Since 1985, I’ve translated some 10 books from Danish, Norwegian, English, and partly Greenlandic, dealing with myths, legends and Indigenous peoples of the Arctic. I think my university studies of Nordic literature and languages, enabling me to speak Danish and Swedish, were probably the biggest driver in my interest in the Nordic or Arctic regions. What actually was it that kick-started the Arctic focus? Was there a particular point in your career that took hold? It’s interesting to hear that you started off with engineering and then moved to literature. Alaska was just a booklet, but this is a real book I’m preparing just now. It will be published by the publishing house Academia. No, it’s another one, a monograph about the Arctic. It is just in progress it will be published, if everything goes well, in 2023. My future long-term goal is promoting Czech Arctic science abroad, and one of my short-term goals is publishing the first Czech monograph focused on the Arctic. Since 2016, I’ve been working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs again. ![]() After returning to Prague, I was Director General of the Czech Centres – an organisation trying to promote Czech science and culture abroad. From 2008 to 2013, I was Czech Ambassador to Denmark, so I came to Denmark again to be Ambassador. Between 19, I was Director of the Czech Centre in Stockholm. From 1991 to 1996, I served as Counsellor at the Czechoslovak Embassy in Copenhagen. After the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989, the so-called Velvet Revolution, I entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and became a diplomat dealing with North European affairs. And in 1989, I received a PhD in Nordic literature. But in 1987, I graduated from Charles University in Prague in Modern Philology – Danish and English. It is in north-east Czechia, and the branch of my studies was Systems Engineering, so in fact I’m an engineer. I will start with 1981 – I graduated from the Technical University of Ostrava. Could you start off by telling us a bit more about yourself and your career, and how you envisage your future career goals? He’s a former Czech Ambassador to Denmark, the recent co-author of a book on Czech-Alaskan relations and also a polar explorer. I’m with Zdeněk Lyčka, who is the co-ordinator of the annual Czech Arctic Festival. Zdeněk Lyčkaīy Alisa Musanovic Photo by Hasse Ferrold. A 1935 novel Zdenin světový rekord ( Zdena's world record) by Lída Merlínová is based on his early life and career.Czech-Arctic Connections: Interview with Amb. Koubek spent his late years living with a wife in Prague, where he died aged 72. He abandoned athletics and a potential coaching career, and only after World War II did he join the team of his brother Jaroslav and played rugby for a local club. The next year, he underwent gender reassignment surgery and changed his name. In 1935 Koubek retired from competitions and for six months toured the United States. Later in August, Koubek won the 800 m event at the 1934 Women's World Games, in a world record time of 2:12.4, and finished third in the long jump with a national record of 5.70 m. His next world record came in the medley relay (2×100 m, 200 m and 800 m), at 3:14.4. On 14 June 1934 he set his first world record, in the 800 m at 2:16.4. ![]() In 1934 he won five national titles, in the 100 m, 200 m and 800 m running, high jump and long jump. ![]() Koubek continued his education and training in Prague. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Brno, where he finished school and started training in athletics. Koubek was born in Paskov, in a family of eight siblings. In 1936, he underwent female to male gender reassignment surgery and retired from athletics. He won two medals at the 1934 Women's World Games and several national titles in the 100–800 m running, long jump and high jump, and set a few world records in running events. Zdeněk Koubek (born Zdena "Zdeňka" Koubková, 8 December 1913 – 12 June 1986) was a track athlete from Czechoslovakia.
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