Third Czechoslovak Republic
The Third Czechoslovak Republic (Czech: Třetí Československá republika, Slovak: Tretia česko-slovenská republika), officially the Czechoslovak Republic (Czech: Československá republika, Slovak: Československá republika), was a sovereign state from April 1945 to February 1948 following the end of World War II.
Czechoslovak Republic Československá republika | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1945–1948 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Motto: Pravda vítězí / Pravda víťazí "Truth prevails" | |||||||||||||||||||
Anthem:
Lightning Over the Tatras | |||||||||||||||||||
Territory of the Third Czechoslovak Republic | |||||||||||||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Prague | ||||||||||||||||||
| Official languages | Czechoslovak | ||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Parliamentary republic | ||||||||||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||||||||||
• 1945–1948 | Edvard Beneš | ||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||||||||||||
• 1945–1946 | Zdeněk Fierlinger | ||||||||||||||||||
• 1946–1948 | Klement Gottwald | ||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 May 1945 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 24 October 1945 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 25 February 1948 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Czechoslovak koruna | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||||||||||||
| History of Czechoslovakia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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It was not only the result of the policies of the victorious Western allies, the French Fourth Republic, the United Kingdom and the United States, but also an indication of the strength of the Czechoslovak ideal embodied in the First Czechoslovak Republic.
However, at the conclusion of World War II, Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence, and this circumstance dominated any plans or strategies for post-war reconstruction. Consequently, the political and economic organisation of Czechoslovakia became largely a matter of negotiations between Edvard Beneš and Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) exiles living in Moscow.
In February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized full power in a coup d'état. Despite the country's official name remaining the Czechoslovak Republic until 1960, when it was changed to the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, February 1948 is considered the end of the Third Republic.