The president of Czechoslovakia (, ) was the head of state of Czechoslovakia, from the creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 until the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic on 1 January 1993.

In periods when the presidency was vacant, most presidential duties were assumed by the prime minister.

The second section lists the leaders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) from 1948 to 1989. The post was titled as chairman from 1948 to 1953, first secretary from 1953 to 1971, and general secretary from 1971 to 1989. After the 1948 coup d'état, the KSČ's leader held the real executive power in the country. However, three party leaders (Klement Gottwald, Antonín Novotný, and Gustáv Husák) also served as president at some point in their tenures.

Presidents of Czechoslovakia (1918–1992) Political parties

Other factions

Portrait Name Ethnicity Election Term of office Party Took office Left office Time in office First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938) 1 Tomáš Masaryk Czech 1918192019271934 14 November 1918 14 December 1935 Independent 2 Edvard Beneš Czech 1935 18 December 1935 5 October 1938 ČSNS Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–1939) 3 Emil Hácha Czech 1938 30 November 1938 15 March 1939 Independent Occupation (1939–1945) Czechoslovak government-in-exile (1940–1945) – Edvard Beneš Czech – 17 October 1939 2 April 1945 ČSNS Third Czechoslovak Republic (1945–1948) (2) Edvard Beneš Czech 1946 2 April 1945 7 June 1948 ČSNS Communist Era (1948–1989) 4 Klement Gottwald Czech 1948 14 June 1948 14 March 1953 KSČ 5 Antonín Zápotocký Czech 1953 21 March 1953 13 November 1957 KSČ 6 Antonín Novotný Czech 19571964 19 November 1957 22 March 1968 KSČ 7 Ludvík Svoboda Czech 19681973 30 March 1968 29 May 1975 KSČ 8 Gustáv Husák Slovak 197519801985 29 May 1975 10 December 1989 KSČ Post–Communist Era (1989–1992) 9 Václav Havel Czech 19891990 29 December 1989 20 July 1992 OF

General secretaries of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1948–1989) Except for the final office-holder, the leader of the KSČ was de facto the most powerful person in the country during this period.

Title: Chairman (1948–1953); First Secretary (1953–1971)

Portrait Name Ethnicity Term of office Took office Left office Time in office 1 Klement Gottwald Czech February 1948 14 March 1953 2 Antonín Novotný Czech 14 March 1953 5 January 1968 3 Alexander Dubček Slovak 5 January 1968 17 April 1969 4 Gustáv Husák Slovak 17 April 1969 17 December 1987 5 Miloš Jakeš Czech 17 December 1987 24 November 1989 6 Karel Urbánek Czech 24 November 1989 20 December 1989

Timeline

Presidential standards

See also

List of heads of the Czech state List of Bohemian monarchs List of political office-holders in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia List of de facto rulers of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic List of prime ministers of Czechoslovakia President of the Czech Republic List of presidents of the Czech Republic Prime Minister of the Czech Republic List of prime ministers of the Czech Republic President of Slovakia Prime Minister of Slovakia List of Czech presidential pets

References