The former crown lands of Bohemia, Moravia and (Austrian) Silesia belonged to Austria-Hungary until 1918 (the Hultschiner Ländchen 1742–1918 to Prussia) and since the founding of the first Czechoslovak Republic (Czechoslovakia) on October 28, 1918, formed its western part. After their defeat by National Socialist Germany (1938/39), the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939–45), dependent on the German Reich, emerged from the Bohemian countries, while most of the German-settled border areas ceded to Germany after the Munich Agreement (1938) the Reichsgau Sudetenland was formed (1938–45).
After 1945 the Bohemian Lands again belonged to the dominant part of Czechoslovakia (which had been ruled communist since 1948) (from 1960 ČSSR). As a result of the reforms of the Prague Spring (1968), the constitution of January 1, 1969 stipulated that the “Czech Socialist Republic” as one of the two officially equal nation states of the ČSSR (with its own government, Constitution and parliament). It was only after the collapse of communist rule in the course of the »soft revolution« (center: Prague) in 1989/90 that it was transformed into a federal republic within the ČSFR (official name from 1990 to 1992); on February 6, 1990, Petr Pithart (* 1941, Citizens’ Forum) became the first non-communist Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. The first free parliamentary elections on 8./9. 6. 1990 won the Citizens’ Forum (OF); Pithart remained Prime Minister. From February to May 1991 the Citizens ‘Forum split into the strong Democratic Citizens Party (ODS), the Democratic Citizens Alliance (ODA) and the (since June 1992 meaningless) social-liberal citizens’ movement (OH) around Jiří Dienstbier (* 1937; 1989-92 Foreign Minister of the CSFR)) and Pithart, which reorganized as Free Democrats (SO) in 1993 and merged with another small party at the end of 1995. In the elections in June 1992, the ODS was the strongest party and its chairman V. Klaus on July 2, 1992 new Prime Minister of a coalition government made up of ODS, ODA and KDU-ČSL. Since the preservation of the federal state in its previous form was not enforceable in the negotiations with the Slovak Prime Minister V. Mečiar, an agreement on the state separation of the two republics was reached on July 20, 1992; this was realized with the dissolution of the ČSFR on January 1st, 1993. V. Havel acted as President of the Czech Republic, which was established on the same day (election on January 26, 1993, confirmed on January 20, 1998).
The privatization of the nationalized companies succeeded without mass layoffs; The export economy proved to be a growth driver. Initially, the Czech Republic was considered to be the post-communist state that succeeded in transformation the fastest.
The elections of May 31 and June 1, 1996 confirmed the policy of the ODS in principle, but Klaus was only able to form a minority government with the KDU-ČSL and the ODA, which was tolerated by the enormously strengthened Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) was instructed. The chairman of the opposition ČSSD, M. Zeman (1993-2001), became parliamentary president. In the elections to the Senate, which were held for the first time in November, the parties in the governing coalition won a clear majority; In December 1996, Pithart, who had not been party to any party since July 1996, was elected first President of the Senate. He had just like President Havel used for the conclusion of the German-Czech declaration of January 27, 1997, which is not undisputed in both political camps. – After Klaus resigned due to a fundraising affair of his party, a transitional government under Josef Tošovský (* 1950; non-party) was in office from the end of December 1997. The early elections in June 1998 were won for the first time by the ČSSD; however, it was only able to form a minority government under Zeman after an “opposition treaty” concluded with Klaus. To this end, Klaus became the new President of Parliament (July 1998 to June 2002). After the renewed electoral success of the ČSSD in June 2002 V. Špidla was (ČSSD) Prime Minister of a government coalition with the KDU-ČSL and the Freedom Union (US); after his resignation at the beginning of July 2004 he was followed by S. Gross (until April 2005) and Jiří Paroubek (both ČSSD). Havel’s successor as President of the Czech Republic was V. Klaus on February 28, 2003. After the elections in June 2006, the formation of a government remained difficult for a long time due to the stalemate between the two camps around the ODS and the ČSSD; a first (parliamentary unconfirmed) ODS minority government under M. Topolánek failed at the beginning of October, and a second center-right minority government made up of ODS, KDU-ČSL and the Greens, again under Topolánek, was not achieved until the beginning of January 2007, approval in parliament. On February 15, 2008, Klaus was confirmed as president. With a very narrow majority of 141 of the 279 votes cast in an open vote, it won only after two rounds of three voting rounds each.
Foreign policy: In terms of foreign policy, according to allcitycodes, the Czech Republic endeavored to quickly join the EU and NATO (since 1993 member of the Council of Europe, 1993 association agreement with the EU and signing of the NATO program “Partnership for Peace”, 1996 application for full EU membership). With the signing of a German-Czech declaration of reconciliation (January 21, 1997), the common burdened past of the war and post-war years (1938/39–1947/48) should be dealt with. In 1999 the country became a member of NATO. On May 1st, 2004 she was accepted into the EU. In 2009, the administration of US President Obama stopped the deployment of a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland, which had been agreed by US President G. Bush. President Klaus worried in 2008/09 with his skeptical attitude towards the Treaty of Lisbon for foreign policy irritations. He finally made the signing dependent on a positive outcome of the referendum in Ireland and the judgment of the Czech Constitutional Court, which had to examine the constitutional complaint filed against the treaty. Klaus signed the treaty as the last head of state of the EU on November 3, 2009. As the only other EU member besides Great Britain, the Czech Republic refused to participate in the planned EU fiscal pact at the end of January 2013, referring to constitutional obstacles. On September 22, 2015, the country voted against the EU majority decision on the distribution of refugees to the EU states according to fixed quotas.
