Antonín Novotný

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Antonín Novotný (1904 - 1975) was president of Czechoslovakia from 1957-1968 and ruled as General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1953-1968. He was born on December 10, 1904 in Prague.

Antonín Novotný, the First Secretary of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, was leader of Czechoslovakia during the Stalinisation of the country, resulting in the replacement of the Czechoslovakian democracy by a one-party communist state. His dictatorship centralized power and used force to protect his regime which lasted fifteen years.

The people were denied cultural and political rights except through the Communist Party. The growing number of educated people in Czechoslovakia led to the call for a new form of socialism; one with rule of law, elections, and responsibility.

Novotný began to lose control in 1967 due to his growing unpopularity with the public over a badly handled student protest. Novotný resigned in January of 1968 and was replaced by Alexander Dubček.

He died on January 28, 1975 in Prague.

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References

Wheeler, George Shaw. The Human Face of Socialism: The Political Economy of Change in Czechoslovakia. Lawrence Hill and Company, Publishers, Inc.: U.S.A, May 1973.

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