Gottwald, Klement

Gottwald, Klement
born Nov. 23, 1896, Dedice, Moravia, Austria-Hungary
died March 14, 1953, Prague, Czech.

Czechoslovak communist politician and journalist.

A charter member of Czechoslovakia's Communist Party (1921), he became its leader in 1927 and a member of the Czechoslovak parliament in 1929. Opposed to the Munich agreement, he lived in Moscow through World War II, making several broadcasts to the Czechoslovak underground. After the war, he was appointed deputy premier (1945–46), then premier (1946–48). Inaugurated as president in 1948 after Edvard Beneš's resignation, he quickly consolidated his position, purging rivals and adopting a Stalinist model of government, and served until his death.

* * *

▪ Czech politician
born Nov. 23, 1896, Dědice, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now in Czech Republic]
died March 14, 1953, Prague, Czech.

      Czechoslovak Communist politician and journalist, successively deputy premier (1945–46), premier (1946–48), and president (1948–53) of Czechoslovakia.

      The illegitimate son of a peasant, Gottwald was sent to Vienna at the age of 12 to become an apprentice carpenter and cabinetmaker. By the age of 16 he had become a socialist. During World War I he served in the Austro-Hungarian army, deserting, however, to the Russians before the end of the war. When he returned to the new state of Czechoslovakia in 1918, he joined the left wing of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party, the wing that in 1921 became the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Komunistická Strana Československa; KSČ); Gottwald was a charter member. Soon he was editor of the party newspaper in Bratislava, Hlas Ludu (“Voice of the People”), and later of Pravda (“Truth”). In 1925 he was elected to the central committee of the KSČ and moved to Prague, and in 1927 he became the party's secretary-general. From 1929 he was a member of the Czechoslovak parliament.

      After the Munich Agreement of October 1938, Gottwald went to Moscow, where he later made several broadcasts to the Czechoslovak underground movement. In 1945 he became deputy premier in a provisional government appointed by President Eduard Beneš with the approval of Moscow. In March 1946 he became chairman of the KSČ, and on July 3 he became the nation's premier. On June 14, 1948, after Beneš's resignation under threat and pressure, Gottwald was inaugurated as president of the republic.

      Gottwald quickly consolidated his position. Czechoslovakia was compelled to adopt a Soviet and Stalinist model of government; the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia substituted itself for the state. Political purges began in 1950, resulting in the judicial executions of about 180 party officials, including the party's first secretary, Gottwald's rival Rudolf Slánský.

      Gottwald caught a chill at Joseph Stalin's funeral (March 9, 1953) and succumbed to pneumonia five days later.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gottwald, Klement — ► (1896 1953) Político checoslovaco. Fue presidente de la República en 1948 53. * * * (23 nov. 1896, Dedice, Moravia, Austria Hungría–14 mar. 1953, Praga, Checoslovaquia). Político y periodista comunista checoslovaco. Miembro fundador del partido …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Gottwald — Gottwald, Klement …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • GOTTWALD (K.) — GOTTWALD KLEMENT (1896 1953) Fils de paysans moraves, Klement Gottwald adolescent part à Vienne où il travaille comme apprenti charpentier. C’est là qu’il adhère à seize ans aux Jeunesses socialistes. De 1915 à 1918, il est soldat dans l’armée… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Gottwald — (Klement) (1896 1953) homme politique tchécoslovaque, chef du parti communiste (1929). Prés. du Conseil (1946), il organisa le coup de Prague (fév. 1948) puis fut prés. de la République …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Klement Gottwald — Celebración del Día Internacional de la Infancia de 1949, en Budapest, Hungría. La foto muestra la delegación de Checoslovaquia a la izquierda es un retrato Gottwald, a la derecha de Stalin …   Wikipedia Español

  • Klement-Gottwald-Werke Schwerin — KGW Schweriner Maschinen und Anlagenbau Unternehmensform GmbH Gründung 1948/1990/2006 Unternehmenssitz Schwerin, MV, Deutschland Mitarbeiter …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gottwald — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Gottwald: Felix Gottwald Klement Gottwald Luke Gottwald Catégorie : Homonymie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gottwald — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: August Gottwald (1877–1957), österreichischer Rechtsanwalt und Politiker Christoph Gottwald (* 1954), deutscher Autor Clytus Gottwald (* 1925), deutscher Komponist, Chorleiter und Musikwissenschaftler… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Klement — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Anton Josef Klement (1701–1783), Hofkontrollor von Kaiserin Elisabeth. Erich Peter Klement (* 1949), österreichischer Mathematiker und Hochschullehrer Ernst Klement (1914–2002), deutscher Hammerwurf… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gottwald — (izg. gòtvald), Klement (1896 1953) DEFINICIJA generalni sekretar KP Čehoslovačke (od 1929), sekretar Kominterne u Moskvi (1935 1943), predsjednik čehoslovačke vlade (1946 1948), predsjednik NR Čehoslovačke (1948 1953); najutjecajniji pri… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”