80th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Dubček

200 Sk commemorative silver coin

Alexander Dubček (27.11.1921 – 7.11.1992) ranks among the most popular and prominent Slovak politicians. He has turned into a symbol of struggle against totalitarian rule, for freedom, democracy and social solidarity. He played a leading part in the former Czechoslovakia’s Spring of 1968, a turbulent time leading to democratisation of political, economic and social life. No for long, though, as this positive turn was foiled when Warsaw Treaty troops invaded Czechoslovakia on 21 August 1968. In April 1969, Dubcek was dismissed from his top political position and later shut out of public life for good. For almost two decades, he was under relentless surveillance by the state security service. But he would never give up, constantly writing protest letters to state and parliamentary authorities and staying in contact with foreign institutions and fighters for human rights. In November 1989, he was back in the spotlight with other big figures of a democratic revolution which toppled the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. He went on to chair the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly for some time, and stayed on as an MP after 1992. On 7 November 1992 he succumbed to injuries suffered in a tragic car accident.