President of Czechoslovakia | |
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Czech: Prezident Československa Slovak: Prezident Česko-Slovenska | |
Style | His Excellency |
Residence | Prague Castle Bratislava Castle (1969–92) |
Appointer | Federal Assembly |
Formation | 14 November 1918 |
First holder | Tomáš Masaryk |
Final holder | Václav Havel |
Abolished | 20 July 1992 |
Superseded by | President of the Czech Republic President of Slovakia |
Deputy | Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (1948–1992) |
The president of Czechoslovakia (Czech: prezident Československa, Slovak: prezident Česko-Slovenska) 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 was the country's de facto chief executive. However, three party leaders (Klement Gottwald, Antonín Novotný and Gustáv Husák) also served as president at some point in their tenures.