Karel Urbánek

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Karel Urbánek
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
In office
24 November 1989 – 20 December 1989
Preceded byMiloš Jakeš
Succeeded byLadislav Adamec (party chairman)
End of Communist rule
Personal details
Born (1941-03-22) 22 March 1941 (age 83)
Bojkovice, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (present-day Czech Republic)
Political partyCommunist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (since 1990)
Other political
affiliations
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (until 1990)
ProfessionRailway worker
Entrepreneur

Karel Urbánek (born 22 March 1941 in Bojkovice, Moravia) is a retired Czech politician, and the last Communist leader of Czechoslovakia.

Career[edit]

A former Bojkovice railway station manager, he replaced Miloš Jakeš as Secretary General of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia after a swift election on 24 November 1989 in the wake of the Velvet Revolution. Four days later, he gave his approval to a constitutional amendment which stripped the Communist Party of its monopoly of power, which proved to be the only major decision of his tenure. However, Communist rule had effectively ended with Jakeš' resignation.[1] He remained as party leader until 20 December 1989, when he was succeeded by Ladislav Adamec.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Karel Urbánek" (in Czech). Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů. Archived from the original on 1 January 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2010.