List of Presidents of Czechoslovakia (WFAC)

The President of the Czechoslovakia is the head of state of the oslovakia. Unlike his counterparts in Austria and Hungary, who are generally considered figureheads, the Czech president has a considerable role in political affairs, despite having limited constitutional powers. Because many of his powers can only be exercised with the signatures of both himself and the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, responsibility over some political issues is effectively shared between the two offices.

The President according to the Czechoslovak Constitution
The president is elected by both chambers of parliament in joint session (acting in accordance with the standing orders of the lower chamber). The presidential term of office was originally of 7 years, with a term limit of 2 terms (the first president was exempted from this provision). In 1946, this was reduced to 5 years. Candidates for the presidency has to be at least 35 years old.

Although the constitutional powers of the presidency were limited, the personal prestige of the first president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, and the weakness of successive governments meant that the president wielded in practice more authority than the plain text of the constitution suggested. The constitution laid down that all executive functions rested with the government except as expressly assigned to the president. However, as the president could address written or verbal messages to parliament, appoint and dismiss ministers, attend and preside over cabinet meetings, and demand written reports from individual ministers, presidential influence on the executive was in practice considerable.

The president concluded and ratified international treaties, saving that treaties imposing personal or military burdens upon the subject or involving territorial changes required parliamentary consent. The president could return to parliament, with accompanying observations, any law. Whereupon, parliament could by majority vote re-affirm the law to bypass the president. If there was no majority in the senate, then the lower chamber could pass the law unilaterally by a subsequent vote by means of a three-fifths majority, bypassing the upper chamber and the president. The president was commander-in-chief, and appointed all high-ranking officers, university professors, judges and senior civil servants.

In periods when the post of the President of the Czechoslovak Republic is vacant, some presidential duties are carried out by the Prime Minister. However, the Czechoslovak Constitution does not define anything like a post of acting president.

List of officeholders (since 1919)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:85%" ! colspan=9|

Republic of Czechoslovakia (1918–1938)
! rowspan=2 | № ! rowspan=2 | President (Born–Died) ! rowspan=2 | Portrait ! rowspan=2 colspan=2 | Term of office ! rowspan=2 | Party ! colspan=2 | Presidential mandate ! rowspan=2 | Notes ! # ! Elected ! rowspan="3" | 1 (1850–1937) ! style="background:#F4C2C2;" | 2 (1884–1948) ! colspan=9|
 * rowspan="3" | Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
 * rowspan="3" | Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.jpg
 * rowspan="3" | 14 November 1918
 * rowspan="3" | 14 December 1935
 * rowspan="3" | Non-partisan
 * 1
 * 1920
 * rowspan="3" |
 * 2
 * 1927
 * 3
 * 1934
 * 3
 * 1934
 * Edvard Beneš
 * Edvard Beneš.jpg
 * December 18, 1935
 * 5 October 1938
 * ČSNS Czechoslovak National Socialist Party
 * 1
 * 1935

Republic of Czechoslovakia (1945–1974)
! style="background:#F4C2C2;" | (2) (1884–1948) ! rowspan="2" style="background:#f47920;" | 3 (1896–1980) ! rowspan="2" | 4 (1886–1972) ! rowspan="2" style="background:#f47920;" | 5 (1904–1977) ! colspan=9|
 * Edvard Beneš
 * Edvard Beneš.jpg
 * 28 October 1945
 * 3 September 1948
 * ČSNS Czechoslovak National Social Party
 * 2
 * 1945
 * Died in office.
 * rowspan="2" | Jan Bělehrádek
 * rowspan="2" | Jan Bělehrádek.jpg
 * rowspan="2" | 18 October 1948
 * rowspan="2" | 1958
 * rowspan="2" | ČSSD Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party
 * 1
 * 1948
 * rowspan="2" |
 * 2
 * 1953
 * 1953
 * rowspan="2" | Jan Masaryk
 * rowspan="2" | Jan Masaryk.jpg
 * rowspan="2" | 1958
 * rowspan="2" | 1968
 * rowspan="2" | Non-partisan
 * 1
 * 1958
 * rowspan="2" |
 * 2
 * 1963
 * 1963
 * rowspan="2" | Václav Majer
 * rowspan="2" | Václav Majer.jpg
 * rowspan="2" | 1968
 * rowspan="2" | 1977
 * rowspan="2" | ČSSD Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party
 * 1
 * 1968
 * rowspan="2" |
 * 2
 * 1973
 * 1973

Czecho-Slovak Federative Republic (since 1974)
! style="background:#f47920;" | (5) (1904–1977) ! style="background:#ffe03e;" | 6 (1901–1996) ! rowspan="2" style="background:#f47920;" | 7 (1921–1999)
 * Václav Majer
 * Václav Majer.jpg
 * 1968
 * 1977
 * ČSSD Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party
 * 2
 * Died in office
 * Died in office
 * Eduard Fusek
 * Eduard Fusek.jpg
 * 1977
 * 1982
 * ČSL Czechoslovak People’s Party
 * 1
 * 1977
 * rowspan="2" |Alexander Dubček
 * rowspan="2" |Alexander Dubček.jpg
 * rowspan="2" |1982
 * rowspan="2" |1992
 * rowspan="2" |ČSSD Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party
 * 1
 * 1982
 * rowspan="2" |First Slovak President.
 * 2
 * 1987
 * 1987

! rowspan="2" style="background:#F4C2C2;" | 8 (1884–1948) ! rowspan="2" style="background:#F4C2C2;" | 9 (1884–1948) ! style="background:#ffe03e;" | 10 (1937–)
 * rowspan="2" |Václav Havel
 * rowspan="2" |Václav Havel.jpg
 * rowspan="2" |1992
 * rowspan="2" |2002
 * rowspan="2" |ČSNS Czechoslovak National Social Party
 * 1
 * 1992
 * rowspan="2" |
 * 2
 * 1997
 * 1997
 * rowspan="2" |Madeleine Jana Körbelová
 * rowspan="2" |Madeleine Jana Körbelová (MGS).jpg
 * rowspan="2" |2002
 * rowspan="2" |22 October 2012
 * rowspan="2" |ČSNS Czechoslovak National Social Party
 * 1
 * 2002
 * rowspan="2" |First female President.
 * 2
 * 2007
 * 2007
 * Karel Schwarzenberg
 * Karel Schwarzenberg (President) (MGS).jpg
 * 22 October 2012
 * Incumbent
 * ČSL Czechoslovak People’s Party
 * 1
 * 2012
 * }
 * }