Miloš Jakeš, the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, died on July 10th at the age of 97. He was Czechoslovakia’s leader during the counterrevolutionary events of 1987-1989 which are known as the “Velvet Revolution”.
Born in 12 August 1922 at České Chalupy, the son of a poor family, he began working at the age of 15. He joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1945, just after the end of World War II. In 1955 he began his studies at the CPSU Higher College in Moscow and graduated in 1958.
Jakeš served the Communist Party from various position, being for years a member of its Central Committee and a member of Czechoslovakia’s Federal Assembly.
A staunch proponent of Socialism, he stood against the imperialist-backed, counterrevolutionary attempt of the so-called “Prague Spring” in 1968.
On November 24, 1989, in the peak of the counterrevolutionary events, he resigned from the position of the Party’s General Secretary along with the entire Presidium.
In the years following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the restoration of capitalism, Milos Jakes remained a faithful supporter of Socialist era’s achievements.
He was living in Prague being a frequent attendant of Communist rallies and protests.