Vladimír Páral

Although born in Prague, he spent his early years in Brno, where his father was a military officer. After graduating from secondary school, he received technical training[1] then went on to study chemical engineering at a branch of the University of Chemistry and Technology in Pardubice; graduating in 1954.[2]

He worked at various locations until 1967, when he took a permanent position at the Institute of Scientific, Technical and Economic Information. He had begun writing in 1962, and made contributions to the local daily, Průboj, under the name Jan Laban. Five years later, he started to write novels and, in 1972, became an editor at Severočeském nakladatelství.

In 1977, he was one of the signatories to Anticharta, a formal government document condemning Charter 77, a human rights initiative. In 1992, some classified documents were leaked, including a list of people who had allegedly worked for the StB (secret police), and Páral's name was on that list.[3]

Since 1995, he has divided his time between Prague and Mariánské Lázně.