Adolf Stránský

From humble circumstances, Adolf developed a successful career as lawyer, journalist, politician and statesman. His legacy survives to this day. Adolf was born in 1855 in Habry near Havlíčkův Brod and studied law at Charles University in Prague. Adolf fiercely pushed for the founding of an independent Czechoslovak state, founding the opposition newspaper Národní noviny in 1884, and Moravské listy in 1889. At the instigation of T. G. Masaryk, he renamed Moravské listy to Lidové noviny and gave birth to a daily newspaper that became the most powerful weapon in the political struggle for independence. In 1892, Adolf founded the People’s Party in Moravia and represented it as a member of the Provincial Assembly from 1895 to 1913. He was also a member of the Vienna Imperial Council, representing Moravia to the court. In July 1918, he was elected to the Provincial Assembly for the second time and was also a founding member of the National Committee for State Democracy. After the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic, Adolf was asked by the country’s first president T.G Masaryk to be the first Minister of Commerce of Czechoslovakia.  Following that he served as a Senator for the National Democratic Party.  In 1925 he founded the National Labor Party with his son Jaroslav, and retired from politics shortly after.