Milouš Jakeš — Czechoslovak Communist Party general secretary in 1989 — dies aged 97

Milouš Jakeš, the last general secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia before the Velvet Revolution, has died at the age of 97, news channel Prima News reported on Tuesday stating that his funeral had taken place earlier that day. Seen by many as a symbol of an ageing regime, Jakes was known for his blunt speeches which were satirised by Czechs and Slovaks at the time.

A supporter of the normalisation movement within the Communist Party, Jakeš became general secretary in 1987, a position he held until November 24, 1989, a week after the brutal crackdown on protesters at Prague’s Národní třída which initiated the Velvet Revolution.

Jakeš faced several charges after 1989, including treason for working with the Soviets during the invasion of 1968 and for abusing the border law to shoot citizens trying to escape to the west.

His funeral was held at Prague’s Motol Crematorium.