Elected Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences on 18 May 1996, Professor Milan Konečný is a distinguished Czech cartographer and geoinformatician, internationally recognised for his contributions to spatial data infrastructures, Digital Earth science, and geospatial approaches to disaster-risk management. Born in Vsetín, Czechoslovakia, in 1948, he received his M.A. in Geography and RNDr. in Cartography from Masaryk University in Brno in 1973, followed by his Ph.D. in 1982 and habilitation in Cartography and Geoinformatics in 1984. He has pursued his academic career at Masaryk University, where he is Professor of Cartography and Geoinformatics and Director of the Laboratory on Geoinformatics and Cartography, which he founded in 1992. He served as President of the International Cartographic Association (ICA) from 2003 to 2007 and as Vice-President of the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE) from 2006 to 2015. He also founded and chaired the ICA Commission on Cartography for Early Warning and Crises Management and has held senior leadership positions within IEAS, including President of its European Regional Center. His international standing has been recognised through the ICA Honorary Fellowship, ISDE Life Fellowship, Pangea World Fellowship, and honorary doctorates and professorships from European and Asian institutions.