Alexander Dubček is considered one of the most important political personalities of Slovakia and at the same time of Czechoslovakia. He was born on November 27, 1921 in the village of Uhrovec, coincidentally in the same house as Ľudovít Štúr. He spent part of his childhood with his family in the Soviet Union. After his family returned to his homeland, he fought in the Slovak National Uprising. After the war, Dubček worked as a worker, but at the same time he was involved in politics. Already at a young age, due to his knowledge of Russian, his participation in the SNP and his father's political activities, he earned the opportunity to study at the University of Political Science in Moscow. After returning to Czechoslovakia, his political career progressed. However, he did not belong to typical communist politicians. He noticed human rights violations and many shortcomings of the regime. He began implementing his plans for reform with great caution after replacing Karol Bacílek as secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Czech Republic in Bratislava in April 1963. In 1967, he surprisingly replaced Antonín Novotný as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Czechoslovak Republic, in a turbulent time marked by a political crisis. His personality and presence did not inspire fear. He won the favour of politicians, intellectuals, and the working class. Almost nothing stood in the way of reforms.
As the top representative of the Prague Spring in 1968, from the position of first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Czechoslovak Republic, he began to promote the policy known as "Socialism with a human face". Efforts to reform and democratize the communist regime were thwarted by the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops into the Czechoslovakia on the night of August 20-21, 1968. Together with other politicians, he was taken to Moscow, where he was forced to sign a Moscow dictate known as the Moscow Protocol. Political changes have occurred. However, they did not follow the path of liberalization and reduction of Moscow's influence. In April 1969, Gustáv Husák replaced him as secretary. He briefly served as President of the Federal Assembly and as Ambassador to Turkey. In June 1970, he was stripped of party membership and all political positions. Until his retirement in 1981, he worked as a mechanist in the state forestry company. But still with the whole family under the strict supervision agents of State secret police. Despite the efforts of the regime, his popularity did not decrease even when he was undesirable for the regime. He returned to politics in 1989, when he became the chairman of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia and in March 1992 the chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Slovakia. Alexander Dubček died on November 7, 1992 at the premature age of 71. He died as a result of a car accident that happened during a business trip to Prague near Humpolec in the Czechoslovak Republic. He was the holder of several honorary doctorates and national and international awards, including the Sachar Prize for free thought awarded by the European Union.
Release by ALEXANDER DUBČEK
Author of the proposal: Mgr. art. Jozef Česla
Circulation: 5000 pcs (4000 pcs regular edition, 1000 pcs with Anniversary overprint)
Price: €3
Official author's folder: limited edition of 250 pcs
Price: €15
Sale date: 14.12.2021
Place of sale: Bratislava Castle - Museum Shop
