Heda Čechová (17 July 1928 – 23 April 2020) was a Czech television anchorwoman, radio presenter, and politician. She later served as a member 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 ...

for the

Civic Forum The Civic Forum (, OF) was a political movement in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, established during the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The corresponding movement in Slovakia was called Public Against Violence ( – VPN). The Civic Forum's purpo ...

from 1990 until 1992 following 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 ...

and

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

's transition to democracy.

Biography

Čechová was born Heda Šimandlová 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 ...

, on 17 July 1928. She began working as a

radio announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience on a broadcast media programme or live event either on radio or television. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking ...

at Czechoslovak Radio, where her father worked, while still a student studying chemistry after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She transitioned to an on-screen television anchor and presenter beginning in 1954. She became one of Czechoslovakia's most popular television anchors during the 1960s. Her television career ended in 1968 with 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 ...

that crushed 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 ...

. Čechová and her colleagues were forbidden from reporting on the ongoing invasion. In response, Heda Čechová wore a black dress during her television show to protest both the invasion and its censorship by state-owned television. Čechová was dismissed from her on-air television anchor position and demoted to a job as a records keeper in the station archives. In 1977, she retired from the television station with a disability

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

due to a cancer diagnosis. She was given just three months to live at the time of her diagnosis. However, she underwent surgery and six weeks of

radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy (RT, RTx, or XRT) is a therapy, treatment using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of treatment of cancer, cancer therapy to either kill or control the growth of malignancy, malignant cell (biology), ...

, which successfully cured the cancer. She considered emigrating, but remained in the country due to her son. Čechová briefly entered politics following the

and fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. She was elected to the

, the legislative body of the

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

during its federation with Czechoslovakia, as a member of the Civic Forum from 1990 to 1992. She noted that she didn't enter politics for money (the salary was just 12 thousand

Czechoslovak koruna The Czechoslovak koruna (in Czech and Slovak: ''koruna československá'', at times ''koruna česko-slovenská''; ''koruna'' means ''crown'') was the currency of Czechoslovakia from 10 April 1919 to 14 March 1939, and from 1 November 1945 to 7 ...

per month), but because "we certainly didn't do it, the feeling of freedom was important to us." She left politics after leaving office in 1992. Čechová was married twice, including her first marriage to actor Vladimír Čech Sr., which ended in divorce. Her only child, actor and television host

Vladimír Čech Vladimír Čech (6 July 1951 – 22 March 2013) was a Czech actor, presenter and politician. Early life Čech was the son of anchorwoman Heda Čechová (1928–2020) and actor of the same name, Vladimír Čech (1916–1990). In 1977, Čech g ...

, died from

Lynch syndrome Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is a hereditary predisposition to colon cancer. HNPCC includes (and was once synonymous with) Lynch syndrome, an autosomal dominant genetic condition that is associated with a high risk of colon ...

in 2013. Heda Čechová died on 23 April 2020, at the age of 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Čechová, Heda 1928 births 2020 deaths Czech television presenters Czech women television presenters Czech radio presenters Czech women radio presenters Czech radio personalities Members of the Czech National Council Civic Forum politicians 20th-century Czech women politicians Czechoslovak women in politics Mass media people from Prague Politicians from Prague