Gustáv Husák (1913-1991) became general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1971 and president of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in 1975. He held both of these political positions through the latter 1980s. During this period he brought Czechoslovakia back to orthodox Marxism and unswerving loyalty to the Soviet Union. (Czechoslovakia is now comprised of two separate countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.)

Little is known of Husák's personal life, especially the early years. He was born on January 10, 1913, in Dúbravka, near Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He first came into focus in the 1930s as a brilliant and hard working law student at Comenius University in Bratislava, now part of Slovakia. At this young age he already displayed two chief interests--a devotion to the cause of Slovak nationalism and...