Antonín Novotný

Antonín Novotný
Antonín Novotný in 1968
President of Czechoslovakia
In office
19 November 1957  22 March 1968
Prime MinisterViliam Široký
Preceded byAntonín Zápotocký
Succeeded byLudvík Svoboda
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
In office
13 September 1953  5 January 1968
Preceded byKlement Gottwald
(as Chairman of the Communist Party)
Succeeded byAlexander Dubček
Personal details
Born(1904-12-10)10 December 1904
Letňany, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary
Died28 January 1975(1975-01-28) (aged 70)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Political partyCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia
SpouseBožena Novotná
Signature

Antonín Josef Novotný (Czech pronunciation: [ˈantoɲiːn ˈnovotniː]; 10 December 1904 – 28 January 1975) was a Czechoslovak politician who served as the President of Czechoslovakia from 1957 to 1968, and as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1968. An ardent hardliner, Novotný was forced to yield the reins of power to Alexander Dubček during the short-lived reform movement of 1968.