Alexander Dubcek, the former Communist Party chief ousted two decades ago for leading the "Prague Spring" reforms, returned triumphantly to power Thursday as speaker of Czechoslovakia's parliament.
In a political renaissance unimaginable only two months ago, Dubcek was elected unanimously by 269 deputies present out of the 350-member Federal Assembly. Dubcek shook hands with colleagues and shuffled papers nervously during the vote. The current speaker, Stanislav Kukral, resigned Thursday."This is a moral satisfaction to the hundreds of thousands of people who have upheld the ideals of the Prague Spring," Dubcek said in an address carried live on state TV.
In 1968, Soviet-led tanks and troops crushed Dubcek's reform movement and oversaw the installation of a hard-line communist leadership that ruled until a peaceful revolution that began Nov. 17.
Dubcek was among 23 new deputies elected by parliament Thursday to replace hard-liners and serve until free elections next year. Among the deputies were at least five former dissidents who signed the human rights manifesto Charter 77.