Vladimír Remek

Vladimír Remek is a Czech politician and diplomat, as well as a former cosmonaut and military pilot. He flew aboard Soyuz 28 from 2 to 10 March 1978, becoming the first and only Czechoslovak in space. As the first flight of the Soviet space program's Interkosmos, he was the first space traveller from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States. The European Space Agency considers him the "first European in space". Remek is considered to be the first astronaut from the European Union. Remek was a member of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2013 for the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia. From 2014 to 2018, he was the Czech Ambassador to Russia.