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Profile: David P. Frankel

David Frankel has served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Slovakia since the organization's founding in 2001. He has a longstanding personal and professional interest in Slovakia.

In 1991, David was one of the first government employees sent as a long term advisor to the Slovak portion of the former Czechoslovakia. As an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission, he was sent to Bratislava along with an economist colleague from the U.S. Department of Justice to help three newly-formed government offices in Czechoslovakia implement and enforce their nascent competition laws. For David, this was a homecoming of sorts. Despite the fact that this was his first venture to Europe, David's great-grandfather, Jozef, was born in Dlha nad Kysucou, a small village near Cadca in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. While David's grandfather was born in the U.S., he lived for about 13 years in the Slovak portion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

David recalls his advisory role with the Federal Office for Economic Competition, the Slovak Antimonopoly Office and the Czech Office for Economic Competition as the most professionally rewarding of his 27+ years as a lawyer. "My Slovak and Czech colleagues were eager to disband the old centrally planned and controlled economy, privatize government-owned enterprises and services, and learn how private enterprises in free markets are regulated in a way that leads to the maximization of consumer welfare," said David. At the same time, they yearned for American culture, such as its music and films – even McDonalds – as they sought to achieve other types of freedom.

David is an avid bicyclist and he brought his fancy French/Italian racing bike with him to Slovakia. He rode hundreds of miles in different parts of the country either solo or with his newfound Slovak cycling companions.

At the end of his mission in 1992, David was not keen on leaving a country he had come to love. Thus began his effort to find a way to return to Slovakia. As luck would have it, the Chairman of the Slovak Antimonopoly Office, Lubomir Dolgos, was appointed as the Minister of Privatization. Minister Dolgos invited David to return to work as an advisor at the Ministry and David took what turned out to be a two year leave of absence from the FTC thanks to the generous support of the Foundation for a Civil Society. Given the frequent changes in governments and policies, David's two year stint at the Ministry was not nearly as rewarding professionally as his previous work as an advisor on competition issues. David ultimately served four different ministers from three political parties. By the end of his tenure, David had served at the Ministry for longer than most of his Slovak colleagues.

Nevertheless, on a personal level, David's second stint in Slovakia was very rewarding. He worked hard to become fluent in Slovak, he made many lifelong friends, and he met a wonderful woman, Jana, who is now his wife. They live together in Washington, D.C. with Jana's daughter. They are frequent hosts of Slovaks visiting our nation's capital, some of whom have lived with them for weeks or months at a time, and the Frankels often attend events sponsored by the Slovak embassy.

In 2006, David rode his bicycle from Seattle, Washington to Washington, DC – 3,300 miles in 47 days. Most days during that ride he proudly wore Slovak cycling jerseys to honor the country and people who have so enriched his life.

David enjoys meeting Slovaks new to the US almost as much as he enjoys returning to visit his friends and family in Slovakia. David and Jana plan on living in Slovakia most of the year after he retires. His dream is to teach law in Slovakia and use his legal skills through volunteer work there to help others.