Jiří Horák (24 April 1924 in Hradec Králové – 25 August 2003 in Englewood, Florida) was a Czech politician. He was the first chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. After 1945, Horák studied at Business Institute (''Vysoká škola obchodní'') in Prague and was active in the youth organisation of the

Czechoslovak 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 ...

. When the Communist Party took all power (1948) he emigrated to West Germany and in 1951 to the United States. He studied politology at the Columbia University in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He subsequently taught Eastern European and Russian government and politics at Manhattan College, in Riverdale (Bronx) NY. In 1967, he obtained the position of professor there, where he taught until his retirement. During his emigration, Horák participated in activities of social democracy in exile (in 1948 the party was forcibly merged with Communist Party). After the Communist Party lost its power (1989), he returned to Czechoslovakia and re-established the party, becoming its leader. During the 1990 election, the party failed to obtain seats in the parliament; Horák also got involved in internal party disputes. In the 1992 elections, the party narrowly obtained parliamentary presence. In 1993, Miloš Zeman replaced Horák as party leader. In 1993, Horák returned to the United States, from where he criticised the new strategy of Czech social democracy.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Horak, Jiri 1924 births 2003 deaths Politicians from Hradec Králové Leaders of the Czech Social Democratic Party Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Czech Social Democratic Party MPs