Thomas Bata dead - Bata shoe empire Thomas Bata,

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Bata shoe empire Thomas Bata, dies at 93 in Canada. His father, Thomas, founded the shoe empire in Zlin in 1894, which later became the giant Bata Shoe Organization. (AFP Photo/Michal Cizek)

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Havel awarded Thomas Bata country's top decoration, the Thomas Garrigue Masaryk Order, in 1991, and he also received high Slovak and Canadian decorations. (AFP/Mafa David Port)

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Thomas Bata Junior (C), the owner of the Bata global shoe empire and his wife Sonja talk with Czech President Vaclav Klaus (L), 17 September 2004 during Bata's 90th birthday celebrations. (AFP/Mafa-David Neff)

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Canadian Czech-born businessman Thomas Bata Junior (R), and Slovakian PM Mikulas Dzurinda, In Canada, he re-engineered the Bata Company into a global giant with factories in dozens of countries. (AFP/Mafa-Jan Karasek)

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Thomas Bata Junior (C), the owner of the Bata global shoe empire and his wife Sonja enjoying Bata's 90th birthday celebrations. (AFP Photo)

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