Miroslav Válek (July 17, 1927 – January 27, 1991) was a Slovak poet, publicist and politician. He was also the Minister of Culture in the government of

Slovak Socialist Republic The Slovak Socialist Republic ( sk, Slovenská socialistická republika, SSR) was from 1969 to 1990 a republic within the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, when previously unitary Czechoslovak state changed into a federation. The name was used fr ...

within the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.

Biography

Miroslav Válek was born in

Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' (Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' (Trna ...

and from 1947 to 1949 he studied at Vysoká škola obchodná in Bratislava. During the years 1949–1963 he worked as an editor for magazines ('' Slovenský roľník'', '' Týždeň'', '' Družstevný obzor''), finally becoming general editor of '' Mladá tvorba''. In 1962 he joined 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 ...

. In the years 1966–1967 he was general editor of the magazine '' Romboid'' and also the secretary of Zväz slovenských spisovateľov, later (1967–1968) serving as its president. Válek was politically active and occupied some high positions in Communist party. In years 1969–1988 Válek was Minister of Culture. It is said he was trying to soften the effects Normalization had on

Slovak culture The culture of Slovakia has various folk traditions influenced by its location in Central Europe. It shares similarities with Czech, Austrian, German, Hungarian and Ukrainian culture. Folk tradition Folk tradition has rooted strongly in ...

. He left political life soon after the November change 1989 (

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

) came. He died in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

Works

Books of poetry

*1959 - ''Dotyky (Touches)'' *1961 - ''Príťažlivosť (Attraction)'' *1963 - ''Nepokoj (Unrest)'' *1965 - ''Milovanie v husej koži (Lovemaking in Goose Skin)'' *1973 - ''Súvislosti (Contexts)'' *1976 - ''Slovo (Word)'' *1977 - ''Z vody (From Water)'' *1977 - ''Zakázaná láska (Forbbiden Love)'' *1983 - ''Básne (Verses)'' (collected edition) 1927 births 1991 deaths Slovak poets Politicians from Trnava 20th-century poets {{Slovakia-writer-stub