Career
He was Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czechoslovakian Republic in caretaker governments of January Fischer and Jiří Rusnok. After the Velvet revolution, he entered the Czechoslovak and later Czechoslovakian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as Ambassador to the European Union in Brussels as well as Deputy Foreign Minister.
After Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla resigned in 2004, Kohout was offered the post but refused.
Stanislav Gross took over as Premier. Kohout is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University in Prague.