František Chvalkovský

František Chvalkovský (July 30, 1885, Jílové u Prahy - February 25, 1945) was a Czech diplomat and the fourth foreign minister of Czechoslovakia.

In the newly independent state (First Republic of Czechoslovakia), Chvalkovský first became a secretary of interior minister Antonín Švehla. In 1920, he joined the diplomatic service and participated in the negotiations of the Treaty of Trianon. He later served as ambassador to Japan, the United States, Germany and Italy.

The Munich Agreement ended the First Republic of Czechoslovakia. Its previous pro-democratic and anti-totalitarian policies gave way to calls for authoritarian government and closer cooperation with Nazi Germany (more: Second Czechoslovak Republic). The political elite, connected with former President Edvard Beneš, had to leave office and Chvalkovský became foreign minister. He tried to maintain the independence of the rump state by making concessions to neighbours, hoping to gain time for a more favorable outcome in the future. He grossly underestimated Hitler's desire to occupy Central Europe and the hunger for revenge from Poland and Hungary, who had been forced to make painful concessions to Czechoslovakia after World War I. He represented Czechoslovakia during the Vienna Arbitration. Due to insufficient preparation, Czechoslovakia had to concede significant parts of Slovak territory to Hungary. When Slovakia declared independence on March 14, 1939, Chvalkovský traveled with President Emil Hácha to Berlin, hoping that further concessions would preserve the independence of Czech lands. Instead, Hitler forced them - in violation of the Munich Agreement - to sign an agreement for the annexation of the country on March 15, 1939. Czechoslovakia ceased to exist.

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