Lubomír Štrougal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lubomír Štrougal
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Štrougal in 1970
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| Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia | |
| In office 28 January 1970 – 12 October 1988 |
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| Preceded by | Oldřich Černík |
| Succeeded by | Ladislav Adamec |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 October 1924 Veselí nad Lužnicí, Czechoslovakia |
| Died | 6 February 2023 (aged 98) |
| Political party | Communist Party of Czechoslovakia |
| Spouse |
Věra Štrougalová
(m. 1952; div. 1992) |
| Signature |  |
Lubomír Štrougal (19 October 1924 – 6 February 2023) was a Czech politician, who was the prime minister of Czechoslovakia from 1970 to 1988.
Life and career
Štrougal was born in Veselí nad Lužnicí on 19 October 1924. After compulsory service in German industry during World War II (the "total appointment" order for Czech people – German: Totaleinsatz) he finished his law studies at Charles University in Prague.
Štrougal joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and in the late 1950s became a member of its Central Committee. Štrougal was agriculture minister between 1959 and 1961, and then interior minister until 1965. In 1968 he became deputy prime minister under Oldřich Černík. At first he rejected the 1968 occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact forces, but later became a prominent figure in Gustáv Husák's regime.
Štrougal was Czechoslovakia’s prime minister from 28 January 1970 to 12 October 1988. He resigned as prime minister due to conflicts with the communist party chairman Miloš Jakeš. He criticized the state of the party, the executive and the society. During the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Štrougal was among the candidates to become chair of the Communist Party, but later left the political stage, and in February 1990 he was expelled from the party.
The Office for the Documentation and the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism Police of the Czech Republic (Czech: ÚDV) alleged that Štrougal, in 1965, had prevented investigation of crimes conducted by the communist State Security in 1948 and 1949. However, the Prague city court discharged him in 2002 due to lack of evidence.
In 2022, Štrougal was again put on trial, along with former Interior Minister Vratislav Vajnar, for ordering the killing of citizens trying to cross the border when he was prime minister. However, experts from the psychiatric hospital where he was being treated said he was suffering from mild dementia and could not comprehend the court proceedings. He did, however, claim that the killings were not his responsibility.
Death
Štrougal died on 6 February 2023, at the age of 98.
See also
In Spanish: Lubomír Štrougal para niños
