Editing Czechs (section)

=== Modern politicians ===
One of the most notable figures are founders of Czechoslovakia, modern state of independence of Czech and Slovak nations, Presidents [[Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk]] and [[Edvard Beneš]], who was also leader of exile government in [[World War II]]. [[Ludvík Svoboda]] was a head of the Czechoslovak military units on the Eastern Front during the World War II (later president of [[Czechoslovakia]]). The key figures of the Communist regime were [[Klement Gottwald]], [[Antonín Zápotocký]], [[Antonín Novotný]] (and Slovak [[Gustáv Husák]]), the most famous victims of this regime were [[Milada Horáková]] and [[Rudolf Slánský]]. [[Jan Palach]] committed self-immolation as a political protest against the end of the [[Prague Spring]] resulting from the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the [[Warsaw Pact]] armies.

Another notable politician after the fall of the communist regime is [[Václav Havel]], last President of Czechoslovakia and first [[List of presidents of the Czech Republic|President of the Czech Republic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/vhavel.htm |title=Václav Havel |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |first=Petri |last=Liukkonen |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080104053608/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/vhavel.htm |archive-date=4 January 2008 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> The first directly elected president is [[Miloš Zeman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/article/36022|title=VACLAV HAVEL|website=Radio.cz|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=24 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624031536/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/36022|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Czech Republic has had multiple [[List of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic|Prime Ministers]] the first of which was latter Presidents [[Václav Klaus]] and [[Miloš Zeman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vlada.cz/cz/clenove-vlady/historie-minulych-vlad/rejstrik-predsedu-vlad/default.htm|title=Rejstřík předsedů vlád|website=Vlada.cz|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=19 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619000424/http://www.vlada.cz/cz/clenove-vlady/historie-minulych-vlad/rejstrik-predsedu-vlad/default.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Another Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic were conservative politicians such as [[Mirek Topolánek]], [[Petr Nečas]] and social democratic such as [[Vladimír Špidla]], [[Jiří Paroubek]], [[Bohuslav Sobotka]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/article/29360|title=Radio Prague – Milos Zeman – outgoing prime minister|website=Radio.cz|date=19 June 2002|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=26 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126093023/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/29360|url-status=live}}</ref>

Diplomat [[Madeleine Albright]] was of Czech origin and spoke Czech. Other well-known Czech diplomats were [[Jan Masaryk]] or [[Jiří Dienstbier]].