| | Studium der Philosophie und Geschichte an der Karlsuniversität in Prag |
| 1962 | Promotion in Philosophie |
| 1964 | Gründung der ersten nicht-kommunistischen Literaturzeitschrift 'Tvár' |
| 1965 | Redakteur der Verlagsannonce 'Nové knihy' |
| 1966 | Gründung von 'Sesity', eine weitere Zeitschrift für junge Literaten, die 1969 verboten wurde |
| 1968 | Mitwirkung am Prager Frühling |
| 1969 | Anklage auf Grund der Teilpublikation des Romans 'Mimner' in 'Sesity' |
| 1970 | Berufsverbot |
| 1977 | Unterzeichner der Charta 77 |
| 1978 | Die tschechische und deutsche Herausgabe der 'Stunde namens Hoffnung' und strafrechtliche Verfolgung sowie Verhaftung |
| 1980 | Ausreise in die USA |
| seit 1981 | Wohnhaft in Bonn |
| 1983 | Erwerb der deutschen Staatsbürgerschaft, freier Schriftsteller, publiziert eine Antologie verbotener tschechischer Autoren |
| 1990-1993 | Botschafter der CSFR in Bonn |
| 1993-1997 | Botschafter Tschechiens |
| 1997-1998 | Minister für Bildungswesen, Jugend und Sport |
| 1971 | MSc in Economics, Warsaw School of Economics (Central School of Planning and Statistics) |
| 1974 | Ph. D. in economics, Warsaw School of Economics |
| Visiting scholar at the Centre for European Studies at the University of Sussex |
| 1980 | Post-doctoral degree in international trade relations, Warsaw School of Economics |
| 1992 | Scientific title of Professor conferred by the President of the Republic of Poland |
| 1970 | s Visiting scholar Universidad Autonoma in Madrid |
| 1981-1987 | Deputy Director of the Research Institute for Developing Countries, Warsaw School of Economics |
| 1988-1990 | Fulbright scholar, University of California, Berkeley, lecturer at the California State University in San José |
| 1991-1994 | Deputy Director, Institute for Development and Strategic Studies, Warsaw |
| 1994-1996 | Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Poland |
| 1995-1996 | Chief Negotiator for accession to OECD |
| 1996-1997 | Government Plenipotentiary for establishing the Committee for European Integration (KIE), Secretary of KIE with the rank of Secretary of State and Head of the Office of the Committee for European Integration (UKIE) |
| 1997-1998 | Minister Head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland |
| 1998-2000 | Deputy Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Geneva |
| 2000-2001 | United Nations Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Geneva |
| 2001-2003 | Head of Office of the Committee for European Integration and Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Poland |
| 2003-2004 | Minister for European Affairs, Poland |
| 2004-2009 | Commissioner for Regional Policy, European Commission, Brussels |
| since 2009 | Member, European Parliament, Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats); Chairwoman, Committee on Regional Development, Brussels |
| 1972 | Ph.D. Southeastern European History, University of Vienna |
| 1972-1973 | Fulbright scholarship, University of Southern California, L.A., USA |
| 1977-1983 | Adviser, Press Secretary of the Austrian Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky |
| 1983-1984 | Austrian Mission to OECD, Paris |
| 1984-1992 | Head of Austrian Press and Information Service, New York |
| 1992-1994 | Head of the Department for Multilateral Economic Co-operation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vienna |
| 1994 | Head of Department for Information on European Affairs in the Federal Chancellery (supervised the Federal Government's information campaign on Austria's accession to the European Union) |
| 1995-1997 | Head of Department for International Relations of the City of Vienna |
| 1997-1999 | Austrian Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
| 1998-1999 | European Union Special Envoy for Kosovo |
| 1999 | EU Chief Negotiator at the Kosovo peace talks in Rambouillet and Paris |
| 1999-2002 | High Representative of the International Community for Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 2002-2008 | Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Austria to the UN and other International Organizations, WTO and the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva |
| since 2008 | Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Austria to the OECD, Paris |
