Edvard Beneš

Profession: Politician and Statesman

Nationality:

Biography: Edvard Beneš was twice President of Czechoslovakia, serving from 1935-38 and after WWII from 1945 till 1948.

As a young man Beneš was a prominent advocate for the independence of Czechoslovakia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He became Czechoslovakia's first Foreign Minister after its formation after WWI in 1918 and was regarded as a skilled diplomat. Beneš believed in a multi-cultural state and opposed splitting Czechs and Slovaks into separate states.

In 1935 succeeded his mentor Tomáš Masaryk as President. The major crisis of his first presidency was the Sudeten issue. In 1938 Nazi Germany laid claim to the German-speaking Sudetenland, with Adolf Hitler publicly demanding it at the 1938 Nuremberg rally. The Munich Agreement signed at the end of September 1938 between Germany, France the UK and Italy allowed for the German annexation of Sudeten and Beneš was forced to resign and eventually went into exile in the UK.

During the war Beneš organized the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, and resistance efforts to Nazi occupation. In 1945 he returned to Czechoslovakia and formed a coalition government after liberation by the Soviet army. Beneš held power until 1948 when he was ousted by a communist coup by the Czech Communists, heavily supported by the Soviet Union.

Born: May 28, 1884
Birthplace: Kozlany, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire

Generation: Lost Generation
Star Sign: Gemini

Died: September 3, 1948 (aged 64)