Alexander Dubček (WFAC)

Alexander Dubček
8th President of Czechoslovakia
In office 5 March 1983 – 5 March 1993
Prime Minister	Jiří Horák Václav Klaus
Preceded by	Jiří Hájek
Succeeded by	Madeleine Dienstbierová
19th and 21st Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia
In office 3 June 1968 – 2 June 1976
President	Ludvík Svoboda Jiří Hájek
Preceded by	Miloslav Rechcígl
Succeeded by	Lubor Zink
In office 13 March 1978 – 23 April 1982
President	Jiří Hájek
Preceded by	Lubor Zink
Succeeded by	Jiří Horák
President of the Czechoslovak Confederation of Trade Unions
In office 13 May 1962 – 20 February 1966
Preceded by	František Zupka
Succeeded by	Karel Poláček
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 25 May 1964 – 22 April 1982
Constituency	Trenčín
In office 9 June 1952 – 13 May 1960
Constituency	Trenčín
Personal details
Born	27 November 1921 Uhrovec, Czechoslovakia
Died	11 March 2006 (aged 84) Bratislava, Slovakia, Czechoslovakia
Nationality	Slovak
Political party	Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1939–1957) Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (1957–2006)
Spouse(s)	Anna Borseková (m. 1947, died 1990)
Children	Pavol (1948–) Peter (1950–2011) Milan (1953–)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Mechanical locksmith, trade unionist
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Czechoslovakia
Service/branch	Czechoslovak Army
Years of service	1939–1945
Rank	Senior Lieutenant
Unit	Czechoslovak Legion in the USSR
Battles/wars	World War II Eastern Front (1939–1945)
Awards	Czechoslovak War Cross 1938–1945

Alexander Dubček (27 November 1921 – 11 March 2006) was a Czechoslovak and Slovak statesman, politician and trade unionist who served as the eight president of Czechoslovakia from 1983 to 1993, and as prime minister of Czechoslovakia from 1968 to 1976 and from 1978 to 1982. He also briefly served as the leader of the Opposition from 1965 to 1968 and 1976 to 1978. He served as leader of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) from 1966 to 1980.

Dubček was born in Uhrovec, Czechoslovakia. His family emigrated in 1925 to Kirgiziya in the Soviet Union to develop the industrial cooperative Interhelpo. After training as a mechanical fitter and finishing his secondary education, and volunteered for service in Czechoslovak Legion in the USSR in 1939. He served in World War II, reaching the rank of Senior Lieutenant, before beginning employment as a mechanical locksmith in the Škoda Works in Dubnica nad Váhom in Slovakia.

Dubček began his political career as active trade unionist and a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), which he joined in 1939. He joined the Union of Metalworkers in Czechoslovakia in 1945 and eventually held a succession of union posts. In 1957, Dubček was expelled from the Communist Party for openly criticizing the party's support of the Soviet intervention in the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. He joined the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) and quickly rose through the ranks in the party and the Czechoslovak Confederation of Trade Unions (ČSKOS). In 1962, he was elected president of the ČSKOS, and the following year he was elected chairman of the Slovak branch of the ČSSD, joining the party's federal executive board. As a trade union leader, Dubček strongly marked himself as a representative of a sober political line, which strived for concrete improvements in the members' pay and working conditions. Dubček's down-to-earth and straightforward personality and charismatic nature caused a media sensation, inspiring "Dubčekmania" (Czech: Dubčekmánie, Slovak: Dubčekmánia) and helped him to win the leadership of the ČSSD in 1966.

From the late 1960s until the early-1990s, Dubček's personality dominated the Czechoslovak political scene not seen since president Tomáš G. Masaryk. After winning the 1968, he was re-elected in 1972 before narrowly losing in 1976. He returned as prime minister shortly afterwards, in 1978, and won a third election victory in 1980, before briefly withdrawing from politics briefly. In 1983, he was elected president of Czechoslovakia, a mostly ceremonial figurehead of the parliamentary republic but with significant influence and authority over the country's foreign relations. In 1988, he was re-elected for a second term. Dubček left active politics after his second presidential term ended in 1993.

With his 15-years tenture prime minister and his 10-year presidency, known as the Dubček era, he is one of the most important political figures in the country as well as in Western European social democracy. Partly at the same time as him, the Social Democrats Willy Brandt of West Germany, Bruno Kreisky of Austria and Olof Palme of Sweden were heads of government, with whom he worked closely in the Socialist International. Dubček's personality, communist background and policy decisions aroused polarizing reactions throughout Czechoslovakia during his time in office. While critics accused him of arrogance and of economic mismanagement which created large federal budget deficits, admirers praised what they considered to be the force of his intellect, his political acumen which maintained national unity and fostered a pan-Czechoslovak identity, and achievements which included sweeping institutional reform and expansions of the social and welfare systems. He maintained throughout his career connections to his working background and was perceived in public as the man of the people. He was well-respected by political allies and opponents alike for his political acumen, and 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

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 had 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. However, the post-war economic crisis significantly cooled their expectations. After returning Štefan was one of the earliest members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ). One item on the agenda of the 1st Congress in 19233 was the appeal launched previously by the Fourth Comintem Congress for concrete assistance by the international working class in building up the Soviet economy. In several centers in Czechoslovakia ardent groups of qualified workers, inspired partly by fear of unemployment and partly by a generous vision of Soviet life and an abhorrence of bourgeois society, began to organize themselves with a view to emigrating to the Soviet Union as ready-made industrial or agricultural cooperatives. On 29 March 1925, the family along with 105 other artisans and their families — Mostly Czechs and Slovaks together with smaller numbers of Germans and Hungarians — travelled to Pishpek in Kirgiziya in the Soviet Union, with a desire for a socially just life and to develop the Esperantist industrial cooperative Interhelpo.

Life was initially harsh and difficult, as the workers had to build everything from nothing. Everything including building materials had to be wrested from the land or procured in exchange for whatever the community could produce. After a few years of acclimatization and the arrival of fresh transports of enthusiasts with much-needed manufacturing equipment, the Interhelpo eventually won recognition from the Soviet authorities. In 1933 the Dubček family moved to the less strenuous environment of Gorky, near Moscow, where the father was to work in a car factory. 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 Nové Mesto nad Váhom, while Štefan and Alexander remained in Gorky. During this time Alexander learned the trade of mechanical fitter and completed his secondary schooling in 1938. It was also during this time that he became intensely loyal to the Soviet Union.

After the outbreak of World War II, Dubček joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) and volunteered for service in the Czechoslovak Army in exile, 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 Hodonín, where she died in 1944. Július worked as a forced laborer in the Hermann Göring Werke in Dubnica nad Váhom while simultaneously working with the underground resistance against the German and Hungarian occupations of Slovakia. He joined the 1st Czechoslovak Partisan Brigade of Jan Žižka and was killed in January 1945 by a German patrol.

In 1945, Dubček got a job as a mechanical locksmith in the Škoda Works in Dubnica nad Váhom. Here he met Anna Borseková from Velcice, and were married in a Catholic church ceremony in 1946. Together they had three children; Pavol (born 1948), Peter (1950–2011) and Milan (born 1953).

Early political career

Rise and fall in the Communist Party (1945–1957)

After the war, Dubček joined the Union of Metalworkers in Czechoslovakia (Svaz kovodělníků v Československé republice, SKČ) and the Revolutionary Trade Union Movement (Revoluční odborové hnutí, ROH). For the first six years after the liberation, he worked as a locksmith while simultaneously working as a district official of the party. With the dissolution of the ROH in 1948, he joined the newly-formed Czechoslovak Confederation of Trade Unions (Czech: Československá konfederace odborových svazů, Slovak: Československá konfederácia odborových zväzov, ČSKOS/ČSKOZ). In 1951, Dubček was chosen as the union representative of SKČ, and went on to hold a succession of union posts. In 1955, he was elected leader of the Metalworkers' Union (SKČ).

He was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1952 for the Communist Party, representing the electoral district of Trenčín. He member of the Slovak branch of the party, which had emerged from the war with a smaller membership base and thus had to appeal to a broad segment of less ideologically motivated younger people to recruit a party base for electoral politics. This gave the party a more pragmatic and less orthodox culture, which shaped Dubček's own pragmatism. A socially idealistic Dubček, he was shaped by his upbringing by unconventional and utopian parents and had no rigid ideological destination in mind. Dubček's generation represented the young idealistic and rank-and-file of the KSČ which broke with the Stalinist party leadership. Although he was critical of the failed Soviet-backed Communist coup d'état attempt in February 1948, he remained loyal to the Soviet Union and the party, rising through the ranks of the KSČ.

During its 10th Congress in 1954, Dubček was elected to the Central Committee of the party, largely thanks to the patronage of Antonín Zápotocký, who wanted to involve younger politicians in the central direction of the party. Dubček had quickly emerged as a charismatic and popular politician and trade unionist. He began his studies at Comenius University in Bratislava, but he would return to the Comenius University in Bratislava in 1955 to attended the University of Politics in Moscow.

Political ferment within the KSČ started in the wake of the 20th congress of the Soviet Communist Party, where Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's delivered his "Secret Speech" on 25 February 1956. Khrushchev's speech was sharply critical of the rule of Stalin, particularly with respect to the purges which had especially marked the last years of the 1930s. In the West, the speech politically devastated organised communists; in Czechoslovakia, the KSČ became invigorated as party members and outsiders now dared to speak and criticise. Some even re-evaluated the role of Stalin, which would have been impossible earlier. The Communist leadership received a lot of criticism within the party for its Stalinist line. Dubček later stated he was "shocked when they stated bluntly that Stalin had been a murderer". As much as Dubček was disturbed by the news of what Stalin had done he admired Khrushchev for making the speech over the opposition of most of the leadership, who were themselves involved.

The Soviet Union's brutal suppression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 created a split within the KSČ, and once again the communists were disdained in public opinion and isolated politically. The Stalinist party leadership, including Antonín Zápotocký and Antonín Novotný, regarded the Hungarian insurgents as counter-revolutionaries as reported at the time in Rudé právo and Pravda, the official KSČ newspapers. Meanwhile, the rank-and-file party members and intellectuals, dissatisfied with the entrenched policies of the Stalinist party leadership repudiated the leadership position and demanded changes to the party. While Dubček's main concern at the time was the sake of party unity and the international leadership of Soviet Communism, the invasion had disillusioned him. He was one of the signatories of the Manifest of the Fourty-Two (Czech: Manifest dvaačtyřiceti) signed by intellectuals and KSČ members like Zdeněk Mlynář and Laco Novemský, and younger KSČ members like Josef Smrkovský, Josef Špaček, František Kriegel, and Dubček. The "Manifesto" was submitted to the Central Committee of the KSČ with the intent of initiating an internal debate on the events. It was leaked to the press and provoked a brutal reaction by the Party's leadership and the Central Committee; any debate attempt was rejected while the document's authors, labelled as "traitors", were threatened with heavy political consequences.

As tensions grew and the party suffered the loss of thousands of party members, the KSČ was forced to bring forward the Extraordinary Eleventh Party Congress from June 1958 to 23–26 January 1957. At the congress, Dubček proved effective in uniting opinion against Zápotocký and Novotný as fierce conflict erupted between the Stalinists and more reform-friendly members. When Dubček first spoke, he was careful to criticize the Soviet Union, but called for reforming the party and distancing themselves from its Stalinist past in light of Khrushchev's speech the year before. The Presidium of the Central Committee found these "outright attacks and slanders" from the reformers unacceptable, with Novotný labelled Dubček a "national deviant" and a "traitor". Dubček, extremely upset, suddenly said that the Central Committe acted like dictators. The congress re-elected the Stalinist Central Committee headed by Zápotocký, while Dubček was expelled as member. In June 1957, Dubček was expelled from the party altogether.

Trade unionist and rise to power in the ČSSD (1957–1966)

In September 1957, he joined the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD). Despite his expulsion from the KSČ, Dubček personally remained popular among his constituents and the trade union members. In 1958, he was elected vice president of the ČSKOS, and in 1962 he was elected its president. As the president of the ČSKOS, Dubček strongly marked himself as a representative of a sober political line, which strived for concrete improvements in the members' pay and working conditions.

Dubček became known in the ČSSD as a left-winger and a democratic socialist, and his admission into the ČSSD and his course in intra-party matters in the late 1950s and early 1960s left him neither fully accepted nor trusted by the right in the party. Nevertheless, he steadily rose through the ranks in the party, becoming party secretary in the Trenčín district in 1959 and was named chairman of the Slovak branch of the ČSSD in 1963, joining the party's federal executive board. As the party's spokesperson for labour-related issues, he spoke out for unskilled workers and the jobless.

In the 1964 election, Dubček was persuaded to run on the understanding that if successful he would remain as chairman of the ČSKOS. He was elected as a member of the Chamber of Deputies representing Trenčín in the Chamber of Deputies. While he was among the candidates who attracted the most personal votes, the election result proved to be another disapointment for the ČSSD. The election results seemingly left Republican Miloslav Rechcígl free to break off the grand coalition; the centre-right parties won a majority of three seats. However, Rechcígl himself proposed a new coalition agreement. The negotiations that Dubček led alongside ČSSD chairman Vilém Bernard and Karel Drubý soon proved difficult. The ČSSD leadership supported a renewed coalition, but talks failed when the ČSSD rank and file balked at the proposed coalition terms. Rechcígl then formed centre-right cabinet comprising the RS, ČSL and the SD. However, the ČSSD were not completely shut out of power; they were informally consulted on all major decisions.

ČSSD leadership election (1966)

Dubček pictured holding a bouquet of flowers soon after being elected leader on 20 February 1966.

Bernard's leadership was weakened after the ČSSD's 1964 defeat, as he had alienated the left wing of the party by the party's right-wing turn and his attempt to ditch ČSSD's commitment to nationalisation during the election. He was also perceived among many social democrats as not being attractive enough for the media age to free the party from the unusual opposition role. Meanwhile, Dubček had established himself as the leader for the left wing of the party, mainly attributed to his working-class background and popularity among union members of the ČSKOS.

On 10 January 1966, Bernard announced he would not seek re-election as chairman, triggering a leadership election. Dubček decided to stand as a candidate, having been disillusioned by the party's right-ward turn, and called for addressing social injustice, economic inequality and better working conditions. Dubček's popularity grew due to his down-to-earth and straightforward personality and charismatic nature and was perceived to benefit from a large influx of new members. Hundreds of supporters turned out to hear him speak at the hustings across the nation, and their enthusiastic reception and support for him was dubbed "Dubčekmania" (Czech: Dubčekmánie, Slovak: Dubčekmánia) by the press. Meanwhile, Bernard endorsed deputy leader Jiří Horák as his successor. Horák was popular in the party and stood for the continuation of Majer and Bernard's policies. However, the nomination of another right-wing candidate, Mirko Sedlák, caused a split between the right wing members of the party-heading into the election.

Despite the divisiveness caused by his Communist past and his left-wing leanings, he overcame these disadvantages in the leadership election on 20 February 1966. Dubček had united the party's left wing behind him and they showed no willingness to compromise. His candidacy was strengthened by the endorsement of Bohumil Laušman and Evžen Erban. The right wing, although more numerous, was deeply split between Horák and Sedlák. Dubček took the lead on the first ballot and gained momentum on the second. Finally, Horák proved a poor campaigner, emphasizing divisive factors rather than his own credentials, allowing Dubček to emerge, surprisingly, as the unity candidate. In the second round of voting, Dubček won with 205 votes to Horák's 168 thus becoming the leader of the ČSSD and the Leader of the Opposition. Upon his election as chairman of the party, he resigned the presidency of the ČSKOS.

Leader of the Opposition (1966–1968)

Main article: 1968 Czechoslovak federal election

Election poster from the 1968 federal election with the slogan "Socialism with a human face."

After his election as chairman he tried to quickly fill in the inner-party rifts between the left and right. Of special importance, he managed to come to a good understanding with Horák, which was seen as crucial to Dubček's later success as party leader. Horák remained deputy chairman of the federal ČSSD and was later nominated the party's candidate for governor in the 1967 Bohemian election.

From the spring of 1967 Dubček had a comprehensive reform program drawn up under the name "Action Programme" (Czech: Akční program, Slovak: Akčný program). It laid down the basic principles of economic, social, legal and educational policies that would later characterize the early years of Dubček's chancellorship. The substance of the campaign was based upon the slogan "Socialism with a human face" (Czech: socialismus s lidskou tváří, Slovak: socializmus s ľudskou tvárou), with a proposed expansion of social programs, an extensive national transport plan, an ambitious housing program, educational reform to abolish tuitions for universities and introduce a government-funded student loans and grant program, and a vision of modern socialism envisioned. Dubček showed no fear of contact with experts, who belonged to no or another party, and was not shy of cooperating with both the communists and the christian democrats on policy.

Dubček used the following two years to prepare for the election campaign in 1968 by building up his personality in public and to present himself to the "voters as a statesmanlike top candidate". As Dubček gained more public exposure, his popularity grew. On the other hand, there was a systematic "dismantling and wear and tear" of the opposing candidate, prime minister Rechcígl, who as head of government was constantly caught in the crossfire of interests and opposition parties. The ČSSD never missed a chance to criticize the right-wing government, but Dubček was careful not to take on the image of the unsympathetic "naysayer" himself, but left criticism of the government policy to others, especially the former party leader Bernard and Bohemian governor Horák.

In February 1968, the ČSSD, the Socialist Party (ČSS) and the Communists (KSČ) formed an electoral alliance. The RS tried again and again to scare people during this election campaign from a left-wing ČSSD–KSČ coalition. The Republicans campaign consisted primarily of attacks against the ČSSD and KSČ, which testified to the growing nervousness of the RS in the face of a visibly reinvigorated ČSSD and the KSČ. One of the most prominent posters featured a hands pulling on the Czechoslovak flag as if to strangle it with the words: "The Red People's Front is threatening." (Czech: Červená lidová fronta hrozí!, Slovak: Červený ľudový front hrozí!). Another poster featured Dubček in front of four hooded Communists with the slogan "Dubček – A Communist of Yesterday, A Communist of Tomorrow" (Dubček - komunista včera, komunista zítra). However, such symbols touched the voters neither emotionally nor rationally.

On the contrary, the charismatic, intellectual, and bilingual Dubček instead captured the hearts and minds of the nation, and the period leading up to the election saw intense cases of "Dubčekmania". Many young people in Czechoslovakia, especially young women, were influenced by the 1960s counterculture and identified with Dubček's, an energetic nonconformist who was relatively young. He was confronted by screaming girls at public appearances, something never before seen in Czechoslovak politics. As a result, a large fan base was established throughout the country. He would often be stopped in the streets for his autograph or for photographs by both young people and blue-collar workers. He was able to connect with the audience immediately no matter the size or setting, was open to people and was able to discuss any matter, even if the subject had nothing to do with politics. He also mastered the medium of television and small talk: during debates and interviews, Dubček was able to simplify everything and get to the point.

On 5 May 1968, Dubček led the ČSSD to a decisive victory in the federal election. The party won 84 of the 200 seats, with 42.1% of the popular vote. After three weeks of negotiations, the ČSSD formed a coalition government based on the popular front model with the Czechoslovak Socialist Party (ČSS), christian democratic Czechoslovak People's Party (ČSL), and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ). Dubbed the "Red-yellow coalition" (Czech: Červeno-žlutá koalice, Slovak: Červeno-žltá koalícia) or the "Popular Front" (Czech: lidová fronta, Slovak: Ľudový front), the inclusion of the Communists were particularly controversial.

Prime Minister (1968–1976)

Dubček leaving Prague Castle after being appointed prime minister by president Svoboda.

Dubček was sworn in by President Svoboda on 3 June 1968, and his cabinet passed its investiture vote on 18 June with ____ against, ___ opposed and ___ abstaining.

Economic policy

Dubček with minister of finance Ota Šik (right).

The Dubček government inherited a small budget deficit and low national debt from the Rechcígl government. The Czechoslovak economy had experienced a long period of high growth rates, enjoyed close to full employment and government budget surpluses, and the government's external debt was stable at around 15% of GDP. Only the rising inflation indicated there were potential weaknesses in the economy.

As a result, the Dubček government initially continued the economic policy of the last 25 years, with the goal of expanding and consolidating the welfare state with great importance attached to the social partnership by the government and the opposition. Under finance minister Ota Šik, the government pursued an expansive demand-side fiscal policy despite having achieved full employment and were reliant on importing labor. The economy saw continuing GDP growth from 1969 to 1973, with an average growth of 3.96% and topping at 4.32% in 1970. Employment was high and the number of registered unemployed low. Meanwhile, tax rates rose to one of the highest levels in the Western world. In 1970, the Dubcek government introduced through Act No. 47/1970 the value added tax (VAT), known as the DPH (Czech: Daň z přidané hodnoty, Slovak: Daň z pridanej hodnoty). Initially, the VAT had a level of 12.5%, which was increased to 15% in 1975, with a reduced rate of 10% for food, public transportation, medicines and pharmaceuticals.

By 1972, there were clear signs of overheating, with the economy running at the limit of its capacity. Wages had risen more in Czechoslovakia than in many of their export customers. The oil crisis of 1973 and the dramatic upsurge in oil prices of 1973-74 exacerbated Czechoslovakia's economic problems. Czechoslovakia's GDP fell by 4.19% in 1974 (with a negative growth of 0.30%) and 1.02% in 1975 (with a negative growth of 1.32%), the first time in the postwar era that it had fallen so sharply. At the same time, inflation rose from 7.92% in 1973 to 9.72% in 1974. This forced the Dubček government to pay close attention to the economy.

In contrast with other industrialized countries, Šik and other Czechoslovak economic policy-makers opted for a macroeconomic policy mix similar to the Kreisky government in Austria. This consisted in a combination of an expansive demand-side policy to preserve the high employment rate, a co-operative incomes policy based on social partnership to restrain upward pay pressure in order to maintain balance-of-payments equilibrium, a hard currency policy pegged to the Deutsche Mark in order to check the import of inflation, and continued high proportion of state-owned companies. This pragmatic approach attuned to a small open economy and the institutions of social partnership made it possible to maintain a high emloyment rate for longer than in most other industrialized countries.

Social policies

During Dubček's premiership, the welfare state was from a position of already beijng one of the most far-reaching in the world. An ambitious redistributive programme was carried out, with special help provided to the disabled, immigrants, the low paid, single-parent families, and the old.

In the government's first budget, sickness benefits were increased by 8.4%, pensions for war widows by 20%, pensions for the war wounded by 18%, and retirement pensions by 5%. Numerically, pensions went up by 6.4% (1969), 5.2% (1970), 7.9% (1971), 8.2% (1972), and 8.8% (1973). Various policy changes increased the basic old-age pension replacement rate from 42% of the average wage in 1969 to 57% in 1976. In 1974, supplementary unemployment assistance was established, providing benefits to those workers ineligible for existing benefits. In 1971, eligibility for invalidity pensions was extended with greater opportunities for employees over the age of 60.

In 1969, the government expanded maternity benefits and maternity leave from 22 weeks to 26 weeks (Act No. 188/1969). In 1972, unemployment benefits were increased, and family allowances and childbirth allowances were increased in 1975. The Wage Continuation Act of 1973 introduced wage continuation for workers in private enterprises in cases of sickness. Full sick pay was extended to blue-collar unions in 1974, while accident insurance was extended in 1975 to work-related activities. Marriage payments and birth payments were introduced in 1973 and 1976, respectively.

Health care policy

In the field of health care, various measures were introduced to improve the quality and availability of health care provision. A health insurance reform (Act No. 79/1970) extended compulsory health insurance to the self-employed, while including nonmedical psychotherapists and psychoanalysts in the Federative Health Insurance Company. Preventative treatment was included along with changed to the income limit for compulsory sickness insurance, which now would be indexed to changes in the wage level. The right to medical cancer screening was also introduced. In 1974, universal dental insurance was introduced (Act No. 146/1974).

The People's Health Act (Act No. 220/1970) defined the obligations on federal and state levels, healthcare facilities and users of health services and the principle of health care. It made entitlement to hospital care legally binding (entitlements already enjoyed in practice), abolished time limits for hospital care, introduced entitlement to household assistance under specific conditions, and also introduced entitlement to leave of absence from work and cash benefits in the event of a child's illness. The law also secured the supply of hospitals and reduced the cost of hospital care, defined the financing of hospital investment as a public responsibility, single states to issue plans for hospital development, and the federal government to bear the cost of hospital investment covered in the plans, rates for hospital care thus based on running costs alone, hospitals to ensure that public subsidies together with insurance fund payments for patients cover total costs.

In 1974 the Dubček government passed the Health Services Act of 1974 (Act No. 108/1974) with support from the Communists and the ČSL. The reform integrated all health services into a one-tier system, where citizens who needed assistance only had to contact one place, namely with the social committee in their residence municipality, as well as increased the minimum replacement rate from 64% to 90% of earnings. The reform saw a change of perception of social security, from the point of view of rights-based assistance to needs-based assistance, with assistance had to be given on the basis of an individual assessment of the citizen's needs. The law intended to ensure that the welfare state's safety net should benefit all citizens and that no distinction should be made between self-inflicted and involuntary distress in the allocation of social benefits like child and youth care, maternity benefits, rehabilitation, care for pensioners, and home care. Furthermore, emphasis was placed on preventive care and rehabilitation based on the fact that there was also a socio-economic benefit in helping citizens back into the workforce and thus avoiding them from remaining on permanent welfare.

Education reform

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 1968 and 1976.

Tuition was abolished for all public universities in 1969, 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 1972 (Act No. 58/1972), 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. The Universities Organization Act of 1975 was intended to democratize the universities; stipulating a one-third parity between between professors, non-professorial staff and students in university committees.

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.

Labour policy

Dubček's reforms on labour market aimed at strengthening the rights of workers both at home and in the workplace and increased job security. On 29 September 1968, the Dubček government introduced the five-day (40-hour) work week, which came into effect the following saturday. The Employment Protection Act of 1975 (Act No. 117/1975) introduced rules regarding consultation with unions, notice periods, and grounds for dismissal, together with priority rules for dismissals and re-employment in case of redundancies. That same year, work-environment improvement grants were introduced and made available to modernising firms "conditional upon the presence of union-appointed 'safety stewards' to review the introduction of new technology with regard to the health and safety of workers." In 1976, a law on co-determination at work was introduced that allowed unions to be consulted at various levels within companies before major changes were enforced that would affect employees, while management had to negotiate with labour for joint rights in all matters concerning organisation of work, hiring and firing, and key decisions affecting the workplace.

Energy policy

As a direct result of the 1973 oil crisis, Dubček announced on 6 March 1974 what became known as the 'Dubček Plan', a huge nuclear power program aimed at generating all of Czechoslovakia's electricity from nuclear power. At the time of the oil crisis a large percentage of Czechoslovakia's electricity came from foreign oil. The plan envisaged the construction of 4 nuclear plants by 1985 and a total of 8 plants by 2000: three in Bohemia (Temelín, Počerady and Tetov), one in Moravia (Dukovany), one in Silesia (Blahutovice) and in Slovakia (Jaslovské Bohunice, Kecerovce and Mochovce). Work on the first two new plants, at Temelín and Mochovce, started the following year and by 1992, Czechoslovakia had installed 19 new reactors.

While most Czechs and Slovak supported the expansion of nuclear power, the construction caused a rift with their relations with Austria. In particular, Austria was fundamentally opposed to the construction of the Temelín plant only 50 km from the Czechoslovak–Austrian border. Their opposition had been reinforced by the successful campaign by the Austrian Green movement to prevent the opening of the nuclear power plant in Zwentendorf (which had been favoured by Bruno Kreisky's government), and the 1977 nuclear accident at the Jaslovské Bohunice plant, during which a fuel change procedure caused the worst nuclear accident in Czechoslovak history as a result of a combination of human mistakes and design problems.

As early as 1979 there were local and international protests against the Temelín plant's construction. Large grassroots civil disobedience actions took place in 1981 and 1982, organized by the so-called Clean Energy Brigades. In 1982, Austrian anti-nuclear protesters demonstrated against the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant and at one stage temporarily blocked all 29 border crossings between Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Foreign policy

Dubček with Leonid Brezhnev, the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and one of the leaders of the Soviet Union, in 1969.

As prime minister, Dubček continued the policy of active neutrality outlined by the Beneš–Masaryk doctrine and the 1948 Declaration of Neutrality. Strengthening Czechoslovakia's role as a bridge between East and West, Dubček and foreign minister Josef Korbel cultivated Prague's role as a diplomatic hub for talks between the superpowers on limiting strategic weapons (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, SALT), which took place in Prague in 1970, 1971 and 1972.

Dubček was active in normalizing relations with West Germany, culminating with the peace treaty between West Germany and Czechoslovakia on 7 December 1970, along with agreements on the boundaries between the two countries, signifying the official and long-delayed end of World War II.

Another top priority was improving relations with the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany and other Eastern Bloc (communist) countries. Following the 1956 Hungarian crisis Czechoslovakia’s neutrality had effectively been called into question in Czechoslovak-Soviet relations. His first priority was to improve diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, which culminated with Soviet leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Nikolai Podgorny's visit to Prague in 1969, where the Soviet Union acknowledged Czechoslovakia's neutrality without reservations. In 1970 he indicated his readiness to meet with East Germany and Poland to resolve frontier questions that had remained unsettled since 1945. Dubček met with the East German premier Willi Stoph in 1971. In 1973 Dubček signed a treaty with Poland which accepted the current boundaries, which had long been in dispute.

While there were general support for the Beneš–Masaryk doctrine and the policy of active neutrality, Dubček's adherence to the rapprochement with the Soviet Union was controversial, dividing the populace into two camps. One camp embraced many liberals and conservatives, who voiced their opposition to Dubček's policy, calling it "illegal" and "high treason". Conservatives questioned Dubček's loyalty, his background in the Soviet Union, and his communist past, claiming he was a "communist in disguise". Others condemned his rapproachment with West Germany due to the strong anti-German feelings following World War II.

A different camp supported and encouraged Dubček's policies as encouraging change through a policy of engagement with the (communist) Eastern Bloc, rather than trying to isolate those countries diplomatically and commercially. Dubček's supporters claim that the policy was in guidance with the Czechoslovak Declaration of Neutrality of 4 April 1951, and that his policy did help to break down the Eastern Bloc's "siege mentality".

Cooperation with Brandt, Kreisky and Palme

Dubček with German chancellor Willy Brandt (right), Austrian chancellor Bruno Kreisky (second from left) and Swedish prime minister Olof Palme (left), 1972.

Together with Dubček, the German chancellor Willy Brandt, Austrian chancellor Bruno Kreisky and Swedish prime minister Olof Palme became known as the "Gang of Four" (German: Viererbande, Swedish: De fyras gäng, Czech: Gang čtyř, Slovak: Gang čtyri), as the four leading social democrats, who promoted the North-South dialogue and campaigned for an active peace and development policy. Dubček enjoyed a close personal friendship with all three men, and worked closely with them both during their terms in office and in the Socialist International, where they promoted a worldwide collaboration of leftist reform forces. As the four leading heads of European Social Democracy, they seeked a dialogue with parties and movements in the "Third World".

Presidency (1983–1993)

Presidency of Alexander Dubček
5 March 1983 – 5 June 1993
President	Alexander Dubček
Party	Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party
Election	1983, 1988
Seat	Prague Castle
← Hájek • Dienstbierová →
Presidential Standard

1987 election

Dubček preparing to cast his ballots in the presidential election, 1987.

Dubček with Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow, 1991.

Dubček with German president Richard von Weizsäcker in 1991.

Death

Dubček died in Bratislava on 11 March 2006, at the age of 84. His body lay in state in the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague and St. Martin's Cathedral 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 Joe Biden, Soviet President Vladimir Putin and former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac, attended the funeral. He was buried in the National Cemetery in Martin.

See also

• List of Prime Ministers of Czechoslovakia