Magdaléna Vášáryová is a sociologist, theatre and film actress, a writer, a diplomat, and a politician. She has acted in more than 50 films and was the unforgettable heroine of Jiří Menzel’s film. She has been active in non-governmental organisations in Slovakia and was the founder and the director of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association. In 1990–1993 she was the Ambassador of Czechoslovakia to the Republic of Austria and in 2002–2005 she was the Ambassador of Slovakia to Poland. Then, between 2005 and 2006, she was the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic. 2012 she was The Founder and the president of the Council of Via Cultura, an organisation whose aim is to europeanise and modernise the cultural sector and its activity.