Civic Forum
Palouš was the Czech Republic Ambassador to the United States prior to taking office at the United Nations. His other diplomatic and political appointments include the Czech Republic's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia. He was also a founding member of the Civic Forum. He was elected to the Federal Assembly in 1990 and was then a member of its Foreign Affairs Committee. He unsuccessfully ran for leadership of Civic Forum but lost to Václav Klaus.