Josef Vágner

Vágner was born on May 26, 1928, in Ždírnice in Trutnov, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). Having completed his secondary education at a technical school in Dvůr Králové nad Labem, Vágner attended a forestry college in Trutnov and graduated from the University of Agriculture and Forestry in Prague. In 1965 he completed an extramural postgraduate programme in tropical forestry and in 1974 became a candidate of agricultural and forestry sciences.

From 1952 to 1958, Vágner served as chief officer at the Military Forests Administration in Mirošov. From 1958 to 1964 he worked as a teacher at a forestry college in Svoboda nad Úpou.