Antonín Zápotocký (19 December 1884 – 13 November 1957) was a Czech

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1953 and the president of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1957.

Biography

He was born in

Zákolany Zákolany is a municipality and village in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Kováry and Trněný Újezd are administrative parts of Zákolany. Geo ...

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

Cisleithania Cisleithania, also ''Zisleithanien'' sl, Cislajtanija hu, Ciszlajtánia cs, Předlitavsko sk, Predlitavsko pl, Przedlitawia sh-Cyrl-Latn, Цислајтанија, Cislajtanija ro, Cisleithania uk, Цислейтанія, Tsysleitaniia it, Cislei ...

(then in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, now in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

). His father was Ladislav Zápotocký, one of the founders of the

Czech Social Democratic Party The Czech Social Democratic Party ( cs, Česká strana sociálně demokratická, ČSSD, ) is a social-democratic political party in the Czech Republic. Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum and holding pro-European views, it is a m ...

(ČSSD), together with Josef Boleslav Pecka-Strahovský and . He was a

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

of the Left Wing of the ČSSD to the Second

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

Congress, held in Petersburg, 19 July – 7 August 1920. Together with

Bohumír Šmeral Bohumír Šmeral (25 October 1880 in Třebíč, Margraviate of Moravia – 8 May 1941 in Moscow) was a Czech politician, leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party, and one of the founders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Early life � ...

, he co-founded the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Cominte ...

(KSČ) when it broke away from the ČSSD in 1921. He was General Secretary of the KSČ from 1922 to 1925. In 1940, he was sent to

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

. He was released in 1945. From 18 June to 18 July 1946 he was Chairman of the Constituent National Assembly. Zápotocký became Prime Minister on 15 June 1948, replacing

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 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 ...

, who became president. On 14 March 1953, shortly after his return from

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's funeral, Gottwald died. As per the

Ninth-of-May Constitution The Ninth-of-May (1948) Constitution was the second constitution of Czechoslovakia, in force from 1948 to 1960. It came into force on 9 May, shortly after the communist seizure of power in the country on 25 February 1948. It replaced the 1920 C ...

, Zápotocký took over most presidential duties until he was elected president in his own right a week later. Zápotocký favoured a more humane way of governing, but was outflanked by the Stalinist first secretary,

Antonín Novotný Antonín Josef Novotný (10 December 1904 – 28 January 1975) was First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1968, and also held the post of president of Czechoslovakia from 1957 to 1968. An ardent hardliner, Novo ...

. In May 1953, during the monetary reform, which effectively deprived the farmers and better-paid workers of all their savings, sporadic riots against the communist authorities took place. This occasion gave Novotný a chance to seize the upper hand.Czechoslovak history
at

Encyclopedia Britannica An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

At a meeting in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Zápotocký was told to adhere to "collective leadership"—in effect, give up power to Novotný. Zápotocký stayed in office until his death in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

in 1957. He was also second Czechoslovakia president to die in office. His body was cremated at Strašnice Crematorium and interred. Zápotocký penned several novels, two of which were filmed (''Red Glow Over Kladno'' and ''New Warrior will Rise''). A.ZÁPOTOCKÝ.jpg, Grave of Antonín Zápotocký Antonín-Zápotocký-socha-Zákolany2011b.jpg, Statue of Antonín Zápotocký in his birthtown Zákolany

References

External links

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Biography
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H. Gordon Skilling Harold Gordon Skilling (February 28, 1912 – March 2, 2001) was a Canadian political scientist, known for his expertise on the history of Czechoslovakia and support for the Charter 77 dissident movement. Born in Toronto in 1912, Skilling received ...

, "The Formation of a Communist Party in Czechoslovakia", American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Oct., 1955), p. 346-358 * H. Gordon Skilling, "The Comintern and Czechoslovak Communism: 1921-1929", American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Apr., 1960), p. 234-247 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zapotocky, Antonin 1884 births 1957 deaths People from Kladno District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech Social Democratic Party politicians Leaders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Presidents of Czechoslovakia Prime Ministers of Czechoslovakia Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1925–1929) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1929–1935) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1935–1939) Members of the Interim National Assembly of Czechoslovakia Members of the Constituent National Assembly of Czechoslovakia Members of the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia (1948–1954) Communist Party of Czechoslovakia prime ministers Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors