19. - 20. století
Karel Kramar
First Prime minister of Czechoslovakia
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Karel Kramar was an impressive figure in the field of politics. He strongly criticized Austria-Hungary and later, after the founding of Czechoslovakia, he also denounced T.G. Masaryk’s ideas.
He is known to have been very handsome as well as well-educated and chivalrous, which made him the lion of the salons in St Petersburg and Warsaw. He met his wife in Russia and developed a passion for building villas for her (he built three, the most exotic of which is the villa Barbo in Crimea). He survived an attempted murder in 1919, thus becoming the first Czechoslovak politician on which such an attempt was committed.
Kramar studied law and graduated as a lawyer. In 1889 he co-founded the Czech People’s Party together with Thomas G. Masaryk and in 1891 he was a candidate and was elected to the Reichsrat (Imperial council). He was a supporter of the idea of federation for Austria-Hungary
and of close cooperation between Slavic nations. He organized numerous Slavic conventions and supported the idea of “New Slavism”.
After the start of the First World War, Kramar modified his position and began organizing home resistance. For this he was arrested and sentenced to death, but was eventually saved by a general amnesty declared by Emperor Charles I. After the proclamation of independence of Czechoslovakia, he became its first Prime minister, and as such he led the Czechoslovak delegation at the Paris Peace conference. He was a supporter of the stand that the victorious powers should intervene against the Bolshevik rule in Russia, but he wasn’t successful in this endeavor mainly because of Benes’ opposition. His differences of ideas led to countless quarrels with Masaryk and Benes. He died on the eve of the occupation of the Czechoslovakia he had helped create.
