Dagmar Burešová (19 October 192930 June 2018) was a Czech lawyer and politician. She specialised in

labour law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

. She was known for her defence of Libuše Palachová, the mother of

Jan Palach Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation in 1969 at age 20 was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resul ...

, a young man that self immolated to protest the Soviet absorption of his country, a drama featured in the 2013

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

''Burning Bush''. As a politician, Burešová served as the first

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

of Czechoslovakia, after the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

. She was the chair of the

Czech National Council The Czech National Council () was the legislative body of the Czech Republic from 1968, when it was created as a member state of Czechoslovakia, until 1992, when it was legally transformed into the Chamber of Deputies according to the Constitut ...

from 1990 to 1992.

Personal life and death

Burešová was born in 1929 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 ...

. Burešová's father was a lawyer during the

First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic, often colloquially referred to as the First Republic, was the first Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1938, a union of ethnic Czechs and Slovaks. The country was commonly called Czechosl ...

. She studied law at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

in Prague, and during that time, she hid a classmate who had escaped from a communist prison. She put her friend in touch with , who helped him flee to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. A recount of the events was featured in 's book ''Advokáti proti totalitě'' (''Lawyers Against Totalitarianism''). In 1950, she married Radim Bureš, a paediatrician, and they had two daughters. Burešová's father-in-law was also a lawyer. Her youngest daughter could not go to school due to Burešová's controversial work. Burešová died on 30 June 2018 after a long illness.

Career

As a lawyer, Burešová worked in

. Her motto was "Cowardice should be a criminal offence." She defended over 100 people who lost their jobs or were persecuted after the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...

in 1968. She also defended writer

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera ( ; ; 1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship ...

, Ivan Medek, who later served under Czech Prime Minister

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

, as well as , and Libuše Palachová, the mother of

. Palachová wanted to posthumously clear her son's name from lies that

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 ...

member spread after Palach's self immolation. After defending Palachová, Burešová was watched by the

StB State Security (, ), or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it dealt with any activity that was considered oppositio ...

. The case was featured in the 2013 three part

''Burning Bush''. After the

, Burešová served as the first

of Czechoslovakia, from 1989 to 1990.First post-communist justice minister Dagmar Burešová dies at 88
/ref> Burešová supported judicial reform. From 1990 to 1992, she was chairperson of the

. Between 1990 and 1991, Burešová held negotiations on a peace treaty and land division settlement between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. She initially opposed the idea of a treaty between the countries. In 1996, Burešová was a

KDU-ČSL KDU-ČSL (In Czech language, Czech, the initials of the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party; ), often shortened to ("the populars"), is a Christian democracy, Christian democratic list of political parties in the Czec ...

candidate for the

Senate of the Czech Republic The Senate () is the upper house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague. Structure The Senate has 81 members, chosen in single-seat constituencies through the two-round system. If no c ...

. She was not elected, and was second of 10 candidates. Burešová also worked as a chair of the Czech-German Fund for the Future, which gives money to Czechs who were affected by the Nazis, and was the leader of the scouting organisation of

Junák Junák – český skaut (''Junák – Czech Scouting''), is the internationally recognized organization of Scouts and Guides of the Czech Republic. Founded in 1911, Junák – český skaut is the largest organisation of children and youth in ...

Awards

In 2002, Burešová was awarded the

Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk () is an order (decoration), Order of the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1990 after the Velvet Revolution, and re-established in 1994 (following the dissolution of Czechosl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buresova, Dagmar 1929 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Czech lawyers Justice ministers of Czechoslovakia Politicians from Prague Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Charles University alumni Czechoslovak lawyers