List of Presidents of Czechoslovakia
| President of Czechoslovakia | |
|---|---|
 Standard of the President (1918–1960) | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Residence | Prague Castle Bratislava Castle (1969–92) |
| Appointer | Federal Assembly |
| Formation | 14 November 1918 |
| First holder | Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk |
| Final holder | Václav Havel |
| Abolished | 20 July 1992 |
| Succession |  Václav Havel Michal Kováč |
The President of Czechoslovakia was the head of state of Czechoslovakia, from the creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 until the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic in 1992.
In periods when the presidency was vacant, most presidential duties were assumed by the Prime Minister. However, the Czechoslovak Constitutions never defined anything like a post of acting president.
The second section lists the General Secretaries of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) in 1945–1989. After the 1948 coup d'état, the General Secretary was the country's de facto chief executive. However, three general secretaries (Klement Gottwald, Antonín Novotný and Gustáv Husák) also served as president at some point in their tenures.
The last living former President of Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel, died in 2011.
As of 2017[update], there are two living former General Secretaries of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia: Miloš Jakeš and Karel Urbánek.
Contents
1 Presidents of Czechoslovakia (1918–1992)
2 General Secretaries of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1945–1989)
3 Timeline
4 References
5 See also
Presidents of Czechoslovakia (1918–1992)
Czechoslovak National Social Party
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Civic Forum
Independent
No. | Portrait | Name | Lifespan | Ethnicity | Assumed office | Left office | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938) | |||||||
| 1 |  | Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk | 1850–1937 | Czech | 14 November 1918 | 14 December 1935 | Independent |
| 2 |  | Edvard Beneš | 1884–1948 | Czech | 18 December 1935 | 5 October 1938 | Czechoslovak National Social Party |
Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–1939) | |||||||
| 3 |  | Emil Hácha | 1872–1945 | Czech | 30 November 1938 | 15 March 1939 | Independent |
Occupation (1939–1945)  Emil Hácha became State President of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, a de jure autonomous region incorporated into Nazi Germany.[1][2] Edvard Beneš proclaimed himself President within the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, recognized as the only legitimate Czechoslovak Government during World War II. Jozef Tiso became President of the quasi-independent, pro-Nazi and clero-fascist Slovak Republic. Avgustyn Voloshyn became President of the Carpatho-Ukraine few days before occupation by the Kingdom of Hungary. | |||||||
Third Czechoslovak Republic (1945–1948) | |||||||
| 4 | | Edvard Beneš | 1884–1948 | Czech | 4 April 1945 | 7 June 1948 | Czechoslovak National Social Party |
Communist Era (1948–1989) Official names: Czechoslovak Republic (1948–1960), Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1960–1989) | |||||||
| 5 |  | Klement Gottwald | 1896–1953 | Czech | 14 June 1948 | 14 March 1953 | Communist Party of Czechoslovakia |
| 6 |  | Antonín Zápotocký | 1884–1957 | Czech | 21 March 1953 | 13 November 1957 | Communist Party of Czechoslovakia |
| 7 |  | Antonín Novotný | 1904–1975 | Czech | 19 November 1957 | 22 March 1968 | Communist Party of Czechoslovakia |
| 8 |  | Ludvík Svoboda | 1895–1979 | Czech | 30 March 1968 | 28 May 1975 | Communist Party of Czechoslovakia |
| 9 |  | Gustáv Husák | 1913–1991 | Slovak | 29 May 1975 | 10 December 1989 | Communist Party of Czechoslovakia |
Post–Communist Era (1989–1992) Official names: Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1989–1990), Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (1990–1992) | |||||||
| 10 |  | Václav Havel | 1936–2011 | Czech | 29 December 1989 | 20 July 1992 | Civic Forum |
General Secretaries of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1945–1989)
Except for the final office-holder, they each held a strong executive power in the country de facto.
Title: Chairman (1945–1953) and First Secretary (1953–1971).
No. | Portrait | Name | Lifespan | Ethnicity | Assumed office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Klement Gottwald | 1896–1953 | Czech | April 1945 | 14 March 1953 |
| 2 | | Antonín Novotný | 1904–1975 | Czech | 14 March 1953 | 5 January 1968 |
| 3 |  | Alexander Dubček | 1921–1992 | Slovak | 5 January 1968 | 17 April 1969 |
| 4 | | Gustáv Husák | 1913–1991 | Slovak | 17 April 1969 | 17 December 1987 |
| 5 |  | Miloš Jakeš | born 1922 | Czech | 17 December 1987 | 24 November 1989 |
| 6 |  | Karel Urbánek | born 1941 | Czech | 24 November 1989 | 20 December 1989 |
Timeline
References
^ Rare 1943 Third Reich facts booklet
^ Heavily illustrated rare big original 1943 Nazi book on Eastern Europe and Asia Archived 2009-04-10 at the Wayback Machine.
See also
- List of Prime Ministers of Czechoslovakia
List of rulers of Bohemia
President of the Czech Republic
- List of Presidents of the Czech Republic
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
- List of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic
- List of rulers of the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia
- President of Slovakia
- Prime Minister of Slovakia
| Czechoslovak presidential elections | |
|---|---|
| 1918 - 1940 |
|
| 1945 - 1948 |
|
| 1948 - 1989 |
|
| 1989 - 1992 |
|
See also: Czech presidential election * Slovak presidential election * Czechoslovakian elections | |
