Klement Gottwald's Second Cabinet

Klement Gottwald's Second Cabinet was the cabinet and government of Czechoslovakia in office between 25 February and 15 June 1948.[1] It was formed following the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, and marked the onset of four decades of Communist rule in the country.

Background[edit]

Main article: 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état

In the 1946 Czechoslovak parliamentary election the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) emerged as the largest party, winning 114 of the 300 seats in the Constituent National Assembly with 38% of the vote.[2] Following the elections, the National Front formed a coalition government, headed by KSČ leader Klement Gottwald. Although the government still had a non-Communist majority (nine Communists and seventeen non-Communists), the KSČ had initial control over the police and armed forces through Interior Minister Václav Nosek; in addition to this, the KSČ was gradually able to fill various other positions in the security apparatus with its own candidates.[3]

During the winter of 1947–1948, the tensions between Communists and non-Communists led to increasingly bitter conflict, both in the Cabinet and in parliament. When the non-Communist ministers protested against Nosek's transformations of the security apparatus in February 1948, the Communists responded by mobilizing groups of their supporters across the country.[4] On 13 February, Nosek refused to reverse the recent dismissal of eight senior non-Communist police officers, despite a majority vote in the Cabinet instructing him to do so. In protest, twelve non-Communist ministers resigned from the government on 20 February, hoping that it would lead to the fall of the government and new elections. However, as the ministers of the Czechoslovak Social Democracy and Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk chose not to resign, the government remained.

Earlier during the government crisis, President Edvard Beneš had stated that he would refuse the replacement of the non-Communist ministers with KSČ members. Despite this, he accepted a new, Communist-dominated government proposed by Gottwald on 25 February, likely out of fear of civil war or Soviet intervention, or hoping to be in a position to later make deals with the KSČ.[3]

Composition[edit]

Title Minister Term of office Party
Start End
Prime Minister Klement Gottwald Klement Gottwald 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Deputy Prime Minister Viliam Široký Viliam Široký 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Antonín Zápotocký Antonín Zápotocký 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Bohumil Laušman Bohumil Laušman 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 ČSSD
Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Masaryk Jan Masaryk 25 February 1948 10 March 1948 Independent
Vladimir Clementis Vladimir Clementis 18 March 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Minister of National Defense Klement Gottwald Ludvík Svoboda 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Minister of Foreign Trade Antonín Gregor Antonín Gregor 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Minister of the Interior Václav Nosek Václav Nosek 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Minister of Finance Jaromír Dolanský Jaromír Dolanský 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Minister of Education and Culture Zdeněk Nejedlý Zdeněk Nejedlý 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Minister of Justice Alexej Čepička Alexej Čepička 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Minister of Information Václav Kopecký Václav Kopecký 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Minister of Industry Zdeněk Fierlinger Zdeněk Fierlinger 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 ČSSD
Minister of Agriculture Július Ďuriš Július Ďuriš 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Minister of Internal Trade František Krajčír František Krajčír 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 KSČ
Minister of Transport Alois Petr Alois Petr 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 ČSL
Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Evžen Erban Evžen Erban 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 ČSSD
Minister of Public Health Josef Plojhar Josef Plojhar 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 ČSL
Minister of Technical Planning Emanuel Šlechta Emanuel Šlechta 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 ČSNS
Minister of Food Ludmila Jankovcová Ludmila Jankovcová 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 ČSSD
Minister of Postal Services Alois Neuman Alois Neuman 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 ČSNS
Minister of Unification Vavro Šrobár Vavro Šrobár 25 February 1948 15 June 1948 SSI
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Vladimir Clementis Vladimir Clementis 25 February 1948 18 March 1948 KSČ
Secretary of State for National Defense Ján Ševčík Ján Ševčík 25 February 1948 18 March 1948 DS

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Vláda Klementa Gottwalda II. (25.02.1948 - 15.06.1948)". Vláda České republiky. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  2. ^ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip, eds. (2010). Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook (First ed.). Baden-Baden: Nomos. p. 471. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
  3. ^ a b Lukes, Igor (1997). "The Czech Road to Communism". In Naimark, Norman; Gibianskii, Leonid (eds.). The Establishment of Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe, 1944–1949. Colorado/Oxford: Westview Press. pp. 252–259. ISBN 9780367318451.
  4. ^ Grenville, J. A. S. (2005). A History of the World From the 20th to the 21st Century. London: Routledge. pp. 370–371. ISBN 0415289548.
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