Jozef Lenárt (3 April 1923 – 11 February 2004) was a Slovak politician who was the
prime minister of Czechoslovakia from 1963 to 1968.
Life and career
Born in
Liptovská Porúbka,
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, he graduated from a chemistry high school and worked for the
Baťa company. He became a member of 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 ...
(''KSČ'') and of the
Communist Party of Slovakia (''KSS'').
Lenart was a member of the federal parliament (whose name changed several times) from 1960 to 1990, and was
Speaker of the Slovak National Council from 1962 to 1963. He was also a member from 1971 to (?)1990. He served as Prime Minister of
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 ...
between 1963 and 1968.
Although ethnically
Slovak, he became a Czech citizen after the
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
split in 1993.
On the basis of insufficient evidence, on 23 September 2002 Lenárt was acquitted of treason charges (along with his co-defendant
Miloš Jakeš), related to his handling (or lack thereof) of 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 ...
events in 1968.
He was accused of attending a meeting at the Soviet embassy in Prague on the day after the 1968
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
invasion, planning to establish a new "workers and farmers'" government.
Jozef Lenárt was one of the most resilient figures in Czechoslovakia's communist hierarchy, occupying one post or another in the leadership for no less than a quarter of the century. That achievement was all the more remarkable because his career at the top straddled a succession of regimes and several abrupt changes in policy.
He died in Prague in 2004.
Major functions
*1950–1953, 1957–1966, and 1970–(?)1990: Member of the KSS
*1956–1958: Leading Secretary of the Regional Committee of the KSS
*1958–1962: Secretary of the Central Committee of the KSS
*1958–(?)1990: Member of the Central Committee of the KSČ
*1962–1963: Chairman of the
Slovak National Council
*1963–1968:
Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia
*1968–1970: Secretary of the Central Committee of the KSČ
*1970–1987: First Secretary of the Central Committee of the KSS
*1970–(?)1990: Member of the Presidium of the KSČ
*1971–(?)1990: Chairman of the Central Committee of the
National Front of the Slovak Socialist Republic, and Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee of the
National Front of the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, (Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak: ''Československá socialistická republika'', ČSSR) known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic (''Československá republika)'', Fourth Czecho ...
See also
*
List of prime ministers of Czechoslovakia
*
List of presidents of Czechoslovakia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenart, Jozef
1923 births
2004 deaths
People from Liptovský Mikuláš District
Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Prime ministers of Czechoslovakia
Members of the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia (1960–1964)
Members of the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia (1964–1968)
Members of the Chamber of the People of Czechoslovakia (1969–1971)
Members of the Chamber of the People of Czechoslovakia (1971–1976)
Members of the Chamber of the People of Czechoslovakia (1976–1981)
Members of the Chamber of the People of Czechoslovakia (1981–1986)
Members of the Chamber of the People of Czechoslovakia (1986–1990)
Communist Party of Slovakia (1939) politicians
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia prime ministers
People acquitted of treason
Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution
Acting presidents of Czechoslovakia