born May 28, 1884, Kozlany, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary
died Sept. 3, 1948, Sezimovo Ústí, Czech.
Czechoslovakian statesman.
A disciple of Tomá 0161; Masaryk , Bene 0161; was a founder of modern Czechoslovakia. He served as its first foreign minister (191835) and its president (193538). Forced to capitulate to Adolf Hitler 's demands over the Sudetenland , he resigned. He headed the Czech government-in-exile in England (194045), then reestablished a government on his native soil in 1945. Recognizing the need to cooperate with the Soviet Union, he nevertheless refused to sign a new communist constitution and resigned in 1948 shortly before his death.