# Masaryk is elected president (14 November 1918)

URL: https://allhistories.com/czechia/timeline/1918-masaryk-is-elected-president
Themes: Key Events

On 14 November 1918 the Revolutionary National Assembly met in Prague for the first time. It declared the Habsburg dynasty deposed, proclaimed Czechoslovakia a republic and elected Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, still in the United States, as its first president by acclamation. The assembly also appointed the first government under Karel Kramář, a coalition of all major Czech and Slovak parties, with Edvard Beneš as foreign minister and Alois Rašín at finance. Masaryk returned to Prague on 21 December 1918 to a hero's welcome. He would be re-elected in 1920, 1927 and 1934. At 68, Masaryk became a symbol of the state's democratic and humanist ideals, often known simply as 'the President-Liberator'.

## Why it matters
Masaryk's election gave the new republic a figurehead of great moral authority who shaped its democratic character.

Ruler at the Time: [Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk](https://allhistories.com/czechia/rulers/tomas-garrigue-masaryk)

Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia: Karel Kramář (Czechoslovak National Democracy (ČsND))

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Tomáš Masaryk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom%C3%A1%C5%A1_Masaryk)
- [Wikipedia — Karel Kramář](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Kram%C3%A1%C5%99)
- [Wikipedia — List of presidents of Czechoslovakia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_Czechoslovakia)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Masaryk is elected president](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Masaryk+is+elected+president)
- [Wikipedia — First Czechoslovak Republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Czechoslovak_Republic)