Daniel Kostoval has served as Deputy Minister - Head of the Armaments and Acquisition Division since August 2017. Prior to holding this position, Minister Kostoval served as the Deputy Minister of Defense (February - August 2017), Deputy Minister - Head of the Armaments and Acquisition Division (June 2015 - February 2017), Deputy Minister - Head of the Defense Policy and Strategy Division (January - June 2015), State Secretary (February - December 2014) and First Deputy Minister of Defense (April 2013 - February 2014) for the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic. Before serving in the Ministry of Defense, Minister Kostoval also held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including Director General of the Section of Non-European Countries (July 2012 - April 2013), Director of the Security Policy Department (October 2011 - June 2012), and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington D.C. (August 2009 - October 2011), where he also served as Chargé d´Affaires a.i. (June 2010 - May 2011). Minister Kostoval received his M.A. in International Relations and his B.A. in Political Science from Charles University in Prague.