Gustáv Husák 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 to 1989.
Husák in 1989
Gustáv Husák (in the middle) in 1971 on a visit to the GDR. Walter Ulbricht and Erich Honecker are also pictured.
Gustáv Husák and Ceaușescu at the Pitești Car Factory, June 1977
Velvet revolution in 1989
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Comintern. Between 1929 and 1953, it was led by Klement Gottwald. The KSČ was the sole governing party in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic though it was a leading party along with the Slovak branch and four other legally permitted non-communist parties. After its election victory in 1946, it seized power in the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état and established a one-party state allied with the Soviet Union. Nationalization of virtually all private enterprises followed, and a command economy was implemented.
Klement Gottwald, leader of the party from 1929 until his death in 1953
Gustáv Husák, leader of the party between 1969–87 and president of Czechoslovakia in 1975–89
Milos Jakeš, the last communist leader (1987–89), a target of folk humor
Image: Muna, Alois
