Karel Urbánek | |
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First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia | |
In office 24 November 1989 – 20 December 1989 |
|
Preceded by | Miloš Jakeš |
Succeeded by | End of Communist rule |
Personal details | |
Born |
Bojkovice, Moravia |
22 March 1941
Political party | Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (since 1990) |
Other political affiliations |
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (until 1990) |
Profession | Railway worker Entrepreneur |
Karel Urbánek (born 22 March 1941 in Bojkovice, Moravia) is a retired Czech politician. He was the last Communist leader of Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution, between November and December 1989.
A former Bojkovice railway station manager, he replaced Miloš Jakeš as Secretary General of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia after a swift election on 24 November 1989. The only important decision he made during his very short term was to cancel the clause of the Constitution which gave the Communist Party a monopoly of power, though Communist rule had effectively ended with Jakeš' resignation in the wake of the Velvet Revolution.