Bohuslav Chňoupek (10 August 1925 – 28 May 2004) was a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the most visible representatives of the Communist regime after the defeat of the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

(

Normalization Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

period, i.e. 1969–1988).

Biography

Chňoupek was born in

Petržalka Petržalka (; ; ) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, the area shares a land border with Austria, and is home to around 100,000 people. Names and etymology The German name ...

(now part of

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

). In 1945, Chňoupek became a member of 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 Com ...

. Since 1948 he worked as journalist. After defeat of the Prague Spring, he became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and obtained important government positions: 1969–70 directory of the state radio, 1970–71 ambassador in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, 1971–1988

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

. Chňoupek always supported politics of the Soviet Union, including the

perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

campaign in late 1980s. After the fall of socialism in Czechoslovakia in 1989, he was investigated by police for misuse of powers and spent half a year in prison. As a writer, he published several reportage novels and collections of short articles. He covered the

Slovak National Uprising Slovak National Uprising ( Slovak: ''Slovenské národné povstanie'', abbreviated SNP; alternatively also ''Povstanie roku 1944'', English: ''The Uprising of 1944'') was organised by the Slovak resistance during the Second World War, directed ag ...

, wrote about how the rule of the Communist Party in Slovakia had been established, about the flight of

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...

, and he also wrote an essay about

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

. While his books always supported ideals of socialism he described the chaos, incompetence and brutality that occurred in Slovakia when these ideals were put in practice. He died in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in 2004, at the age of 78.

External links

Biography at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

Short Biography (in Slovak)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chnoupek, Bohuslav 1925 births 2004 deaths Politicians from Bratislava Writers from Bratislava Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Foreign ministers of Czechoslovakia Government ministers of Czechoslovakia Members of the Chamber of the People of Czechoslovakia (1971–1976) Members of the Chamber of the People of Czechoslovakia (1976–1981) Members of the Chamber of the People of Czechoslovakia (1981–1986) Members of the Chamber of the People of Czechoslovakia (1986–1990) Ambassadors of Czechoslovakia to the Soviet Union Communist Party of Slovakia (1939) politicians Czechoslovak journalists Recipients of the Order of the Polar Star (Mongolia)