European Statesmen & Prime Ministers Codexery

Edvard Beneš

Czech statesman and diplomat, president of Czechoslovakia (1935–1938, 1939–1948)

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Edvard Beneš, a politician and diplomat, held the positions of foreign minister, prime minister, and president of Czechoslovakia.[1][2] Beneš stepped down from the presidency on two occasions: once in 1938 following the accord reached in Munich, and again in 1948 after the communist takeover.[1]

Life and work

Beneš was born in 1884 into a peasant family in Kožlany, Bohemia.[3][4] He studied philosophy at Charles-Ferdinand University and later at the Sorbonne.[5] He earned a doctorate of law in Dijon in 1908.[6] During World War I he organized the internal resistance movement "Maffia"[4]

He became Czechoslovakia's first foreign minister in 1918.[2][4] He served as prime minister from 1921 to 1922.[1] He succeeded Tomáš Masaryk as president in 1935.[7] After the Munich Agreement he resigned and went into exile in London in 1938.[1][2]

He resigned again in June 1948 after the Communist takeover.[1][4] Beneš established a Czechoslovak government operating from exile, which gained recognition from the Allied powers.[8][4] After arriving in Košice in April 1945, Beneš put together a coalition government, and he later made a triumphant return to Prague on May 16, 1945.[9][4]

What the cited sources add

The Prague Castle biography notes Beneš organized the "Maffia" resistance during World War I.[4] The same source states he negotiated the recognition of the Czechoslovak National Council by France, England, and Italy in 1918.[4] The Masonic article reports Beneš joined Freemasonry in 1927.[10] The same article states Masaryk was never a Mason.[10]

That article also states Beneš knew the identities of the paratroopers and bid them farewell before their flight.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Edvard Beneš" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Edvard Benes – Prague Castle", Hrad.cz (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Edvard Beneš" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heimann 2009, p. 40 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Edvard Beneš" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Matrika oddaných, Kožlany 17, 1838–1895, snímek 77, Záznam o svatbě", Portafontium.eu; Dennis Kavanagh, "A Dictionary of Political Biography", Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 43; Jandík, "Edvard Beneš ve vzpomínkách svých sourozenců", Volné myšlenky, 7 April 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. "Edvard Benes – Prague Castle", Hrad.cz. facts only, no text reused. hrad.cz
  5. Wikipedia, "Edvard Beneš" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Stalo se před 100 lety: Robinson a Beneš", Czech Radio, 28 April 2001 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Edvard Beneš" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Skauting »Historie", Junák – svaz skautů a skautek ČR (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Edvard Beneš" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lukes 1999, p. 15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Edvard Beneš" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Crampton 1997, p. 75; Crampton 1997, p. 75 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Edvard Beneš" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Crampton 1997, p. 75; Crampton 1997, p. 75; Crampton 1997, p. 75; Crampton 1997, p. 75; Crampton 1997, p. 75 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. sadilek, "Czechoslovakia: a Masonic wonder?", Praga Masonica. facts only, no text reused. pragamasonica.cz
  11. "HISTORIE: Špion, kterému nelze věřit – Neviditelný pes", Neviditelnypes.lidovky.cz, 14 March 2008. facts only, no text reused. neviditelnypes.lidovky.cz

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Edvard Beneš (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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