This is my entry in @awah writing contest "Give an example of a great leader"
The Czech Republic is a small country in the middle of Europe. It was founded after the WW1 in 1918 after the breake-up of Austro-Hungarian empire and the biggest merit had Tomas Garrigue Masaryk who was elected as the first Czechoslovak president. At that time he was 68.
In his previous career he was teacher at the university and a politician (deputy in Wien). He didn't hesitate to defend truth against public opinion and sometimes he was wrongfully accused of treason.
During WW1 he started to fight for suverenity of Czechoslovakia. He met Prime Minister in France and US president Wilson to get their support. He was in command of Czechoslovak legion in Russia with 50 000 men fighting against Austro-Hungarian and German armies and after socialist October revolution they fight against bolsheviks.
Masaryk was fourtimes elected for president, he resigned in 1935 when he was 85. He died in 1937.
There were difficult conditions for live in Czechoslovakia after the war. Poverty and economic crisis (in 1920 and the world's crisis and unemployment in thirties, minorities of German and Hungarians in border areas). But Czechoslovakia stayed as the island of democracy in Europe till the World war 2.
Ordinary people loved their president. He was called "Our beloved father". They believed that Hitler doesn't dare to attack Czechoslovakia when Masaryk is alive.
A statue of Masaryk with anticorona mask in front of Masaryk's university in Brno
Nowadays many people feel ashamed of present president, the prime minister and the government in the Czech Republic. And we wish to have such a leader and hero how Masaryk was. Unfortunately there isn't such a trust worthy and honest person among politicians.
