Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1946-2007 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
6 boxes - 28 files
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Václav Kostelecký was a Czech economist and senior executive of the United Nations Organisation, working primarily with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). He devoted his professional life to all-European cooperation and to what he considered to be its ultimate criterion: the usefulness for people in their day-to-day life of the practical results obtained.
Václav Kostelecký began his career as the Assistant to Professor Josef Macek at Prague (1938-1939). During the Second World War (1940-1945), he was Deputy Secretary General of the Economic Group of the Czechoslovak Textile and Clothing Industry, at Prague. He actively defended the interests of Czechoslovak firms and employees throughout the occupation. In 1945, in recognition of his outstanding service during the occupation, he was appointed Secretary General of the group. In 1947, he became Researcher in the Social and Economic Research Institute of Czechoslovak Trade Unions.
From 1947 to 1948, Václav Kostelecký was Chief Regional Representative for Europe, United Nations Appeal for Children (UNAC), the predecessor of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). He was appointed by Aake Ording, Director of UNAC. Kostelecký successfully negotiated with countries of his region to establish National Committees and advised them on the organisation of their national campaigns until the termination of the Appeal. In 1948, he was transferred to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Geneva (Switzerland), appointed by Gunnar Myrdal, Executive Secretary, as his Personal Assistant. Later the same year and until 1976, he became the Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary, UNECE. During his 29 years with UNECE, Václav Kostelecký had responsibilities in the fields of energy, industry and operational statistics, and for supervisory and administrative matters, supervised all external relations. He carried out many missions to Governments both with the Executive Secretaries and alone and represented UNECE at various international forums. He rose in rank from Economics Affairs Officer in 1948, through First Officer and became Director in 1969. From 1962 to 1976, he was designated Secretary to the Commission, responsible for the preparation, documentation and servicing of the annual Commission Sessions.
In 1978, Kostelecký was selected as a consultant to the United Nations for the official history of UNECE, “Three Decades of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe” (E/ECE/962). In 1979, he became United Nations Consultant Advisor to the Director, Industry Division, UNECE. This same year, he led a United Nations seminar entitled “Practical Problems of Programme Management in International Organisations”.
In 1977, he began the research required for the “History of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe”, working closely with Gunnar Myrdal. At the end of 1981, having assembled the major material and recorded interviews, he began the write-up. Václav Kostelecký died suddenly on 4th February 1982. The chapters he had drafted were published posthumously in 1989 under the title “The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe: The Beginning of a History”.
For more detailed biography, see the attached files attached below, available in English, French, and Czech.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donation by the Kostelecký family
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The collection primarily contains items concerning Mr. Kostelecký's career with the United Nations, namely his activities with the United Nations Appeal for Children (UNAC) and his work with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), including his work on as a consultant on the official history of UNECE: “Three Decades of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe” (E/ECE/962).
There is also correspondence between Kostelecký and Myrdal about the ECE history project, including the preparatory work for Kostelecky's book “The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe: The Beginning of a History”. This material includes records of interviews with figures prominent in the UNECE, including Gunnar Myrdal, Walt Rostow, and Evgeny Chossudovsky, among others.
The collection also contains correspondence with the Kostelecký and Myrdal families and the Swedish Labour Movement Library and Archives about donations of Kostelecký and Myrdal's Papers, as well as Kostelecky’s publications and several books from his personal library.
There are numerous photos, four framed portaits, and several film negatives in the collection, including portraits of Kostelecky and other United Nations staff members, as well as more personal photos of the Kostelecky and Myrdal families. Primarily, however, there are photos relating to the work of the UNECE. In total, there are over 300 photographs in the collection.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Public
Conditions governing reproduction
Some books are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in their entirety.
Some photos and film negatives are fragile and need appropriate precaution during consultation.
Language of material
- Czech
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Russian
- Swedish
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Finding aid available
Generated finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
- The United Nations Archives at Geneva maintain materials related to UNECE and Gunnar Myrdal (see: http://biblio-archive.unog.ch/)
- Digital audio files of interviews conducted by Václav Kostelecký are available to download individually on together in one ZIP file (https://owncloud.unog.ch/index.php/s/IQAWNbwUOFogler)
- The Labour Movement Library and Archives of Sweden maintain Gunnar Myrdal's personal papers (see: http://borge.arbark.se/?vad=arkivbildare&sok=%28%28%28text%29%3D%27myrdal%27%29%29)
- Films produced by Václav Kostelecký during the 1945 Prague Uprising are maintained by the National Film Archive of the Czech Republic (see: http://nfa.cz/; and http://nfa.cz/cz/o-nas/projekty/prazske-povstani-vaclava-kosteleckeho/)
Notes area
Note
Additional materials are likely to be added to the collection.
Protection period to: 2007-12-31
Note
Kost/Pp329-335/1-
Alternative identifier(s)
Scope ID
Reference Code
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Protection period duration: 0
Archivist's note
Protection period note:
Archivist's note
Permission: No permission necessary.
Archivist's note
Physical usability: Without limits
Archivist's note
Term of protection: Accessible (0)