Klement Gottwald
5th President of Czechoslovakia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Klement Gottwald?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Klement Gottwald (Czech pronunciation: [ˈklɛmɛnt ˈɡotvalt]; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953 – titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman from 1945 to 1953. He was the first leader of Communist Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1953.[1]
Klement Gottwald | |
---|---|
Chairman of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia | |
In office 23 February 1929 – 14 March 1953 General Secretary 1929–1945 | |
Preceded by | Bohumil Jílek (General Secretary) |
Succeeded by | Antonín Novotný (First Secretary) |
President of Czechoslovakia | |
In office 14 June 1948 – 14 March 1953 | |
Prime Minister | Antonín Zápotocký |
Preceded by | Edvard Beneš |
Succeeded by | Antonín Zápotocký |
Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia | |
In office 2 July 1946 – 15 June 1948 | |
President | Edvard Beneš |
Preceded by | Zdenek Fierlinger |
Succeeded by | Antonín Zápotocký |
Personal details | |
Born | (1896-11-23)23 November 1896 Vyškov District, Moravia, Austria-Hungary |
Died | 14 March 1953(1953-03-14) (aged 56) Prague, Czechoslovakia |
Political party | KSČ |
Spouse |
Marta Holubová (m. 1928) |
Children | Marta (1920–1998) |
Profession | Cabinetmaker Newspaper editor |
Signature | |
Following the collapse of democratic Czechoslovakia after the Munich Agreement, the right-wing leadership of the Czechoslovak Second Republic banned the Communist Party, forcing Gottwald to emigrate to the Soviet Union in November 1938. In 1943, Gottwald agreed with representatives of the Czechoslovak-government-in-exile located in London, along with President Edvard Beneš, to unify domestic and foreign anti-fascist resistance and form the National Front. He was the 14th prime minister of Czechoslovakia from July 1946 until June 1948, the first Communist to hold the post. In June 1948, he was elected as Czechoslovakia's first Communist president, four months after the 1948 coup d'état in which his party seized power with the backing of the Soviet Union. He held the post until his death.