Karol Bacílek (12 October 1896 – 19 March 1974) was a Czechoslovak communist politician, activist and high-ranking state and Communist Party official during the leadership of

Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald (; 23 November 1896 – 14 March 1953) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953 – titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman f ...

Biography

Bacílek was born in to a Slovak working-class family and was trained as a locksmith. He served in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 Com ...

in the 1921 and worked as a functionary of the party in Slovakia. After the beginning of the Second World War he moved to the Soviet Union. In 1943 alongside

Karol Šmidke Karol Šmidke (21 January 1897 – 15 December 1952) was a Slovak communist politician, resistance fighter, and a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Šmidke was Co- President of the Presidium of the Slovak National Council (with ...

he was deployed in Poland and entered Slovakia in order to conduct 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 ...

. After the liberation of Czechoslovakia, he worked in important political positions in the

Communist Party of Slovakia The Communist Party of Slovakia (, KSS) is a communist party in Slovakia, formed in 1992 through the merger of the Communist Party of Slovakia – 91 and the Communist League of Slovakia. The party is observer of the Party of the European Lef ...

. In April 1945, he became a member of the Provisional Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He worked as a secretary of the Central Committee and head of the agricultural department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Slovakia. He belonged to the centralist wing of the Communist Party of Slovakia, which did not agree with a more significant transfer of powers to the Slovak party and government bodies. During political repressions and party purges, he was a member of the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He was secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1951 to 1953, Chairman of the Council of Commissioners of the Slovak National Council, from May 4, 1950 to September 7 1951. He headed two key ministries in Prague; Ministry of State Control and Ministry of National Security. He applied repressive measures, as the Minister of National Security, he prepared the political processes of the early 1950s in Czechoslovakia, including the

Slánský Trial The Slánský trial (officially English: "Trial of the Leadership of the Anti-State Conspiracy Centre Headed by Rudolf Slánský") was a 1952 antisemiticBlumenthal, Helaine. (2009). Communism on Trial: The Slansky Affair and Anti-Semitism in P ...

. In 1950, he was one of a group of opponents of

Gustáv Husák Gustáv Husák ( , ; ; 10 January 1913 – 18 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak politician who served as the long-time First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1987 and the President of Czechoslovakia from 1975 ...

, who took part in his downfall of power. Together

Viliam Široký Viliam Široký (31 May 1902 – 6 October 1971) was a prominent communist politician of Czechoslovakia. He served as Prime Minister from 1953 to 1963, and was also the leader of the Communist Party of Slovakia between 1945 and 1954. Biogra ...

he was an initiator of the purging of the so called "bourgeois nationalists" within the KPS leadership. Until 1964 he sat in the National Assembly of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. At the same time, he was elected to the Slovak National Council in the 1960 elections. His political career ended abruptly in 1963. After the Kolder Commission revised some of the political processes of the 1950s, Bacílek was removed from all public and party positions.

Alexander Dubček Alexander Dubček (; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovaks, Slovak statesman who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) (''de facto'' leader of Czech ...

replaced him as the first secretary of the KPS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacilek, Karol 1896 births 1974 deaths People from Nymburk District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Communist Party of Slovakia (1939) politicians Government ministers of Czechoslovakia Prime ministers of Slovakia Members of the Constituent National Assembly of Czechoslovakia Members of the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia (1948–1954) Members of the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia (1954–1960) Members of the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia (1960–1964) Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Order of Klement Gottwald