Do not give up! This country and this nation are worth it

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Karel Schwarzenberg was born December 10, 1937 in Prague-Bubeneč into an important aristocratic family. In 1942 Heydrich imposed sequestration on the family and their property was confiscated. The family was allowed to live only in their chateau in Čimelice. In 1948 the communists confiscated the property of the Orlice branch of the Schwarzenberg family and Karel’s family emigrated to Austria. While in Ischl, Karel Schwarzenberg was an active Boy Scout for three years and he has remained faithful to the ideals and principles of Scouting throughout his entire life. After the death of their grandmother with whom the family stayed, the Schwarzenbergs moved to Vienna, where Karel began his university studies. At first he studied law, then forestry, but he completed none of them. When he was twenty-two, he was adopted by his uncle Jindřich and thus became an heir to enormous property. He started managing the heritage and at his chateau in Bavaria he established the Czechoslovak documentary centre, which served to preserve the literary works prohibited by the communist regime. In 1967 he married Therese, countess of Hardegg, and together they raised three children. Between 1985 and 1990 he was the chairman of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. Karel Schwarzenberg returned to Czechoslovakia immediately after the Velvet Revolution. Soon after his return he became the head of the Office of the President for Václav Havel. Since 2004 he was a member of the Senate, and in 2007 he was appointed the minister of foreign affairs. In 2009 he became the leader of the political party TOP 09 and in 2013 he was a candidate for the presidential office. In the direct popular vote he finished second. Even in his age of seventy-five, Karel Schwarzenberg is still full of energy.