U.S. Ambassador to Prague, Richard Graber Ends Diplomatic Mission

Prague - U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic Richard Graber ended his diplomatic mission today, on the day of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the new U.S. president, and he has already left home, Jakub Hornek from the Czech embassy press department told CTK.

The name of Graber's successor will probably be known only in the spring, he said.

Graber, 52, took office as ambassador to the Czech Republic in 2006. After Obama won the November presidential elections, Graber resigned from his post.

He is returning to Wisconsin where he was the head of the local Republicans for eight years since 1999.

According to his statements, he could either get involved in politics or return to his profession as a lawyer.

The Czech press speculated in the past that Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state in the U.S. government of president Bill Clinton, could replace Graber. However, Albright who was born in Prague and who leads a consulting company at present, has dismissed the speculation.

The U.S. embassy in Prague said that the name of Graber's successor would be announced in a few weeks or months.

"We believe the name of the new ambassador will be known only in the spring," Hornek told CTK, adding that President Obama would first have to appoint new ministers, their deputies and assistants.

"Only then the president usually starts appointing new ambassadors and the U.S. Senate must approve all these people," Hornek said, adding that according to him, the name of the new ambassador in Prague would be announced in March or April at the earliest.

Graber said previously that he considered last autumn's lifting of U.S. visa requirements for Czechs as his biggest achievement in the post of ambassador.

The move was the result of long-lasting efforts by diplomacy of the Czech Republic and other European countries.

Graber also said he believed that the construction of a U.S. missile defence radar base on Czech soil would be implemented.
So in case some of you don't know who the fella is on the left, that is Jiri Paroubek, asshole and MP, Prague.
The USA also has high hopes that the Czech parliament will finally approve the extension of Czech units' participation in Afghanistan, he said, alluding to the parliament's failure to do so in late December.