Alexander Dubček (WFAC)

Alexander Dubček (27 November 1921 - 7 November 1992) was a Slovak statesman and politician, leader of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) from 1965 to 1981, prime minister of the Federal Republic of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1976 and from 1977 to 1982, and president of Czechoslovakia from 1982 to 1992.

Dubček began his political career as a labour union leader, and activist in labour politics. Dubček became a media sensation, inspiring "Dubčekmania" (Czech: Dubčekmánie, Slovak: Dubčekmánia), and took charge of the Social Democrats in 1965. From the late 1960s until the early-1990s, his personality dominated the political scene to an extent not seen in Czechoslovak political life since President Tomáš Masaryk, arousing passionate and polarizing reactions throughout Czechoslovakia. "Reason before passion" was his personal motto. In 1992 he was elected President of Czechoslovakia, and was re-elected in 1987. He retired from politics in 1992.

Admirers praise the force of Dubček's personal integrity and down-to-earth personality and salute his political acumen in preserving national unity and fostering a pan-Czechoslovak identity, and in achieving sweeping institutional reform, including the expansion of the social and welfare systems. Critics accuse him of arrogance, of economic mismanagement, as his policies also created large state budget deficits. Despite this, public opinion and scholars consistently rank him as one of the greatest Czechoslovak prime ministers and even regard Dubček as the "father of modern Czechoslovakia."

Early life and the Second World War
Alexander Dubček was born in a local school building in Uhrovec, Czechoslovakia on 27 November 1921. His father, Štefan Dubček (1892–1969), was a carpenter who had worked for several years in Chicago in the United States, where he had become a convinced pacifist and communist. In Chicago he met his future wife Pavlína (nee Kobydová, born in 1897), who was struggling with life as a helper in wealthy bourgeois homes and later as a cook. She has worked in various expatriate associations as well as the socialist labor movement that she has aligned with her Catholic christian ideals. After the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic and the birth of the older son Július (1919), they decided to return to Slovakia in 1921 in the hope of a more satisfying life in the new homeland. After returning Štefan was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ). However, the post-war economic crisis has significantly lowered their expectations, and in 1925 the family travelled to, in the Soviet Union, with a desire for a socially just life and to develop the  and  industrial cooperative Interhelpo. Later, the family moved from Frunze to (today ). In 1935 their family split, as his brother Július had become involved in a street battle and his parents were afraid of possible criminal sanctions. Therefore, Pavlína and Július returned to Czechoslovakia and moved in with their uncle Michal in, while Štefan and Alexander remained in Gorky. During this time Alexander learned the trade of mechanical fitter.

After the outbreak of World War II in 1938 Alexander Dubček joined the exiled Czechoslovak Army, known as the Czechoslovak Legion in the USSR, in December 1939. The legion comprised formerly interned soldiers of the Czechoslovak Army that either escaped or were liberated from Polish internment camps as well as thousands of Volhynian Czechs who volunteered to enter the Czechoslovak Army. Alexander participated in various battles including Battle of Sokolovo, Third Battle of Kharkov, Second Battle of Kiev, Battle of the Dukla Pass and the Bratislava–Brno Offensive, and was wounded in action twice. He left the Czechoslovak Army in 1945 following the end of the war, having reached the rank of Senior Lieutenant.

Due to his family's political activity, the Dubček family was persecuted during the Hungarian and German occupations. Pavlína was first interned at a Hungarian concentration camp in 1940 and was in 1942 transferred to the German concentration camp Hodonin, where she died in 1944. Július worked as a forced laborer in the in  while simultaneously working with the underground resistance against the German and Hungarian occupations of Slovakia. He was killed in January 1945 by a German patrol. Alexander's future wife Anna Borseková also worked as a forced laborer in a factory in.

After having met Anna in 1945, they had a church marriage in 1946. Together they had four children; a stillborn child in 1947, Pavol (born 1948), Peter (1950–2011) and Peter (born 1953).

Early political career
After the war, Alexander Dubček got a job as a mechanical fitter in the in Dubnica nad Váhom and joined the Union of Metalworkers in Czechoslovakia (Svaz kovodělníků v Československé republice, SKČ) and the Czechoslovak Trade Union Association (Odborové sdružení československé, OSČ). The same year, in 1945, he joined the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD). His father Štefan remained a member of the Communist Party, until disillusionment with the Soviet repression of the made him leave the party in 1958 and join the ČSSD instead.

Dubček steadily rose through the ranks. In 1949, he became party secretary in the Trenčín district and in 1951 he was named a Deputy Leader of the Slovak branch of the ČSSD. He also studied law at the in. From 1955 to 1965 he was the leader of the Union of Metalworkers. In 1961 he was elected to the Federal Assembly, and as a member of parliament he was the party's spokesperson for labour-related issues. He located himself on the left wing of the ČSSD, speaking out for unskilled workers and the jobless, and criticizing the ČSSD party leadership. Dubček was also outspoken against the Soviet repression of the Hungarian Uprising.

In 1961 he joined the he was elected Chairman of the Slovak branch of the party, and in 1962 he joined the Federal Executive Board of the party and was elected Deputy Leader. A power struggle soon developed between the right wing of the party, led by party leader and deputy leader, and its left, led by Dubček. When the 1965 federal election ended with Prime Minister Miloslav Rechcígl and his centre-right government remained in power despite ČSSD having won 32.85% of the popular vote and 113 seats (a gain of 11 seats). Following the disappointing election loss Bernard announced his resignation as party leader on 30 May 1965. When a leadership election was announced to be held in October 1965, both Dubček and Vilím announced their intention to run for the position. Dubček criticized the party leadership for the party's rightward turn, and called for addressing social injustice and economic inequality, expanding industry and infrastructure in Slovakia and extend biculturalism. As Dubček gained more public exposure, his popularity grew, and on 24 October 1965 Dubček won the second round of the voting with 52% of the votes. Dubček would retain the position as leader of the ČSSD until 1982.

First government (1972–1976)

 * Main article: Dubček I cabinet

Bilingualism and multiculturalism
Dubček implemented the majority of recommendations of the Federal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism via the Official Languages Act (Act No. 293/1969), which made Czech and Slovak the co-equal official languages of the federal government. Dubček's government also announced a "Multiculturalism Policy" on 8 February 1971, which recognized that while Czechoslovakia was a country of two official languages, it recognized a plurality of cultures – "a multicultural policy within a bilingual framework". This annoyed parts of the public opinion in Slovakia, which believed that it challenged the Slovaks' claim of Czechoslovakia as a country of two nations.

Education reforms
In education, the Dubček government sought to widen educational opportunities for all Czechoslovaks. The government presided over an increase in the number of teachers, generous public stipends were introduced for students to cover their living costs, and Czechoslovak universities were converted from elite schools into mass institutions. Spending on research and education was increased by nearly 200% between 1969 and 1976.

Between 1970-71 planners began an education reform, shortening the primary cycle (základní škola) from nine to eight years and standardizing curricula within the secondary-school system for both gymnasias (gymnázia) and vocational schools (odborná škola), and all textbooks and instructional material below the university level were free (returned at the end of the semester). The Education Act (Act No. 157/1971), passed the Chamber of Deputies with bipartisan support from the Czechoslovak and Slovak People's Parties.

Tuition was abolished for all public universities in 1971, and the number of university students went up from 30,000 to 65,000. Intensive efforts to improve the educational status of women, and the number of women who completed a course of higher education jumped by 93 percent between 1970 and 1980. An educational grant and loan program was introduced in 1974 (Act No. 58/1974), which provided students with grants and, if needed, a supplementary student loans. Grants were introduced for pupils from lower income groups to stay on at school, together with grants for those going into any kind of higher or further education. The intention was to give young people better opportunities to take a tertiary education and compensate for the social inequality, so that no skilled pupils should opt out of study due to lack of economic opportunities.

Law reform
A May 1970 criminal law reform (Act No. 138/1970) abolished the death penalty for all crimes and instituted a mandatory sentence of imprisonment for life. All sentences of death were subsequently commuted to sentences of life imprisonment.

1972 Federal Election

 * Main article: 1972 Czechoslovak federal election

Second Government (1972–1976)

 * Main article: Dubček II cabinet

Economic Policy
Dubček was intensely interested in economics, and Finance Minister, the architect of the economic policy, provided stability in a volatile period characterized by recurring economic crises. While the economy had grown during Dubček's first term it soon faced great problems, including the dramatic upsurge in oil prices of 1973-74 following the. Czechoslovakia's GDP in 1975 fell by 1.6 percent (in constant prices), the first time in the postwar era that it had fallen so sharply. The Czechoslovak trade balance also fell as global demand declined and as the terms of trade deteriorated because of the rise in petroleum prices. The Dubček government's fiscal policy was tightened in the budgets for 1974, 1975 and 1976. This policy was continued by Lubor Zink's right-wing government (1976–77) until rising unemployment (due to the first oil crisis) led to a shift to a more relaxed fiscal policy.

Economic policy
By 1976 the worst of the economic crisis was over. Czechoslovak growth resumed, and the inflation rate began to decline. Although neither reached the favorable levels that had come to be taken for granted during the 1950s and early 1960s, they were accepted as tolerable after the turbulence of the previous years. Dubček and Finance Minister Šik began to be known as a achievers. However, the economy again turned down and, despite efforts to stimulate growth by government deficits, failed to revive quickly. It was only by mid-1978 that Šik and the State Bank of Czechoslovakia (Státní banka československá) were able to bring the economy into balance. After that, the economy continued expanding through 1979, helping Dubček win reelection in 1979. But the upturn proved to be uneven and unrewarding, as the problems of the mid-1970s rapidly returned. By early 1981, Dubček faced the worst possible situation: growth fell and unemployment rose, but inflation did not abate.

1979 federal election

 * Main article: 1979 Czechoslovak federal election

Death
Dubček died in on 11 March 2006, at the age of 84. His body lay in state in the in  and  in Bratislava to allow Czechs and Slovaks to pay their last respects. He was given a state funeral, where several world politicians, including US President John McCain and former US Presidents and, Soviet President  and former Soviet President , British Prime Minister , German Chancellor  and French President , attended the funeral. He was buried in the.

In 2009, the Alexander Dubček Square (Slovak: Námestie Alexandra Dubčeka) was opened in Bratislava.