| Jiří Hájek | |
|---|---|
| |
| 8th President of Czechoslovakia | |
| In office 17 September 1978 – 17 September 1982 | |
| Prime Minister | Alexander Dubček Jiří Horák |
| Preceded by | Ludvík Svoboda |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Dubček |
| Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia | |
| In office 10 April 1972 – 8 November 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Alexander Dubček |
| Preceded by | Josef Korbel |
| Succeeded by | Josef Kalvoda |
| Permanent Representative of Czechoslovakia to the United Nations | |
| In office 29 January 1962 – 31 July 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Josef Korbel |
| Succeeded by | Milan Klusák |
| Ambassador of Czechoslovakia to the United Kingdom | |
| In office 1955–1958 | |
| Preceded by | Josef Korbel |
| Succeeded by | Milan Klusák |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 June 1913 Krhanice near Benešov, Austria-Hungary
|
| Died | 22 October 1993 (aged 80) Prague, CFR, Czechoslovakia
|
| Nationality | Czech |
| Political party | Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Dagmar Hájková (nee Steinichová; m. 1945; div. 1961) Marie Hájková (nee Valachová; m. 1963; died 1989) |
| Children | Jan Hájek (b. 1964) |
| Alma mater | Charles University |
| Occupation | Politician and diplomat |
| Religion | Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Czechoslovakia
|
| Service/branch |  Czechoslovak Army
|
| Years of service | 1938 |
| Rank | Private |
| Battles/wars | World War II (1938–1945) |
Presidency of Jiří Hájek | |
|---|---|
| 5 June 1982 – 5 June 1987 | |
| President | Jiří Hájek |
| Party |  Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party |
| Election | 1982 |
| Seat | Prague Castle |
 | |
| Presidential Standard | |
Jiří Hájek (6 June 1913 – 22 October 1993) was a Czech and Czechoslovak politician and diplomat and member of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD). He served as President of Czechoslovakia from 1982 to 1987 and as Foreign Minister between 1969 and 1976 and 1980 to 1982.
Early life and political career[]
Hájek was born on 6 June 1913 in the village Krhanice in Benešov District in Austria-Hungary (present-day Czechoslovakia). His father was František Hájek (1882–1964), a village teacher of the Evangelical faith, and his mother was Pavla Hájková (nee Chlumecká, 1884–1948). From 1924 he lived in Prague. After graduating from the Vinohrady classical grammar school, Hájek studied law at Charles University from 1932 to 1936, receiving his doctorate in law in 1937 (JUDr). After graduating, he worked as an official at the district financial administration in Prague from 1937 to 1938. From a young age he was a member of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) and was a member of the Organization of Young Social Democrats. During World War II Hájek was imprisoned (1939–1945). During the general mobilization of September 1938, he was drafted to the Czechoslovak Army. During the German invasion of Czechoslovakia he served on the Plzeň front and participated in the defence of Prague. Following the capitulation he went underground and worked illegally with the Czechoslovak resistance movement, serving in the Political Centre (Politické ústředí, PÚ) and the National Working Youth Movement. He was arrested by the Germans in December 1940 and sent to the concentration camp Hodonín. In 1943 he was transferred to Bergen-Belsen where he remained until the end of the war.
After liberation, he became involved in political life. In 1945 he became secretary of the Central Trade Union Council and then the central secretary of the Workers' Academy (1946–1948), and also served as an official of the SČM and the International Youth Union. He also rejoined the ČSSD and was elected to the Provisional National Assembly in 1946. From 1946 to 1958 he was a member of the Chamber of Deputies in the Federal Assembly.
Diplomatic career[]
From 1958 he worked in the diplomatic service as Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1958–1961), Ambassador to France (1961-1964) and then the Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN (1965–1968). From 4 July 1969 to 8 November 1976 he held the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first and second governments of Alexander Dubček. He ran unsuccessfully as the Social Democratic candidate for president of Czechoslovakia in 1975, losing to former Prime Minister Miloslav Rechcígl and winning 48.3% of the votes.
From 1977 to 1980 he served as the Permanent Representative to the UN, before he again was appointed to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Dubček's third and fourth governments. In the Dubček cabinets, Hájek helped shape the policy of rapproachment with West Germany and deescalation with the communist East, and was influential in forming the Helsinki Accords. During his long tenure he was a driving factor in promoting this policy, and was influential in convincing the conservative-liberal coalition under Václav Klaus to continue the policy.
Presidency[]
On 1 January 1982 President Rechcígl made a surprise announcement during his televised New Year's Address, stating that he would resign as president, citing his advanced age and declining health as the reason for his resignation. He handed his resignation to the President of the Federal Assembly Vilém Bernard the following day, and remain in office until the next president was sworn in.
Dubček and the ČSSD leadership urged Hájek to accept the nomination as the party's nominee for the upcoming presidential election. On 19 April 1982, Hájek was elected the eight President of the Czechoslovak Federative Republic, prevailing against the Republican candidate Vladimír Čermák in the second round by winning 53.2% of the votes to Čermák's 46.8%. During his term of office, Hajek was well known for travelling Czechoslovakia in order to decrease the gulf between politics and the people.
Hájek visited not only democratic European states but also Communist countries of the Eastern Bloc. He supported Jiří Horák's ČSSD-led coalition government and its policy of reconciliation with West Germany and improving relations with the Eastern Bloc.
In 1986 Hájek decided not to seek a second term on account of his age and left office on 5 June 1987. He was succeeded by Alexander Dubček.
Retirement and death[]
After serving as president he announced his retirement from political life. He did however serve as an unoffical advisor of Dubček from 1987 to 1990. He died of cancer on 22 October 1993.
See also[]
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