Jiří Horák
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Jiří Horák (born April 23, 1924 in Hradec Králové , Czechoslovakia ; † July 25, 2003 in Englewood , Florida , USA ) was a Czechoslovak dissident and Czech politician .
Life
Horák was initially a member of the social democratic party Československá sociální demokracie and in 1951 went into exile in the USA after merging with the Communist Party to form Komunistická strana Československa . He then studied political science at Columbia University in New York , where he later became a lecturer in political science and constitutional law . In the USA, he was chairman of the Council of Free Czechoslovakia, an umbrella organization for exiled Czechoslovaks, between 1961 and 1971. In 1967 he became professor of political science at Columbia University.
After the revolution of 1989 and the collapse of communism , he returned to Prague in 1989 and helped re-establish the Československá sociální demokracie, of which he was chairman from 1990 to 1992. Miloš Zeman became his successor as party chairman . In 1993 he returned to the USA.
In 2000, President Václav Havel awarded him the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, 3rd class , for his services to democracy .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Horák, Jiří |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Czech dissident and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 23, 1924 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hradec Králové , Czech Republic |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 25, 2003 |
| Place of death | Englewood , Florida , USA |