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Karol Šmidke
Slovak communist politician (1897–1952) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karol Šmidke (21 January 1897 – 15 December 1952) was a Slovak communist politician, resistance fighter, and a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.[1]
Karol Šmidke | |
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Speaker of the Slovak National Council | |
In office 14 September 1945 – 14 July 1950 Serving with Jozef Lettrich (14 September 1945 – 26 February 1948) | |
Preceded by | Jozef Lettrich |
Succeeded by | František Kubač |
In office 5 September 1944 – 23 October 1944 Serving with Vavro Šrobár | |
Preceded by |
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Succeeded by |
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Personal details | |
Born | (1897-01-21)21 January 1897 Witkowitz, Austria-Hungary (now Vítkovice, Czech Republic) |
Died | 15 December 1952(1952-12-15) (aged 55) Czechoslovak Socialist Republic |
Political party | Communist Party of Czechoslovakia |
Šmidke was Co-President of the Presidium of the Slovak National Council (with Vavro Srobar) 5 September - c. 23 October 1944, Co-Speaker of the Slovak National Council (with Jozef Lettrich) 14 September 1945 - 26 February 1948, Acting Speaker from 26 February to 12 March 1948 and Speaker 12 March 1948 - 14 July 1950. He was also the first President of the Board of Commissioners from 18 September 1945 until 14 August 1946, when he was succeeded by Gustáv Husák.[2]
In 1950 he lost his position in the party and was put under investigation, alongside Gustáv Husák, Laco Novomeský, and Vladimír Clementis, under accusations of being a "bourgeois nationalist".[3] He would die under unclear circumstances in 1952 before he was to be put on trial.[4] He would be posthumously rehabilitated in 1967.