Who served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring of 1968?

• A. Alexander Dubček
• B. Václav Havel
• C. Alexei Kosygin
• D. Antonín Novotný

Answer: (A)

Alexander Dubček was the leader who served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring in 1968. He pushed reforms to liberalize the regime—less censorship, more political freedoms, and decentralization of decision-making—often described as "socialism with a human face." Václav Havel was a prominent dissident writer who opposed the regime and later became president, not the party’s head. Alexei Kosygin was the Soviet premier and not a Czechoslovak party leader. Antonín Novotný held the position before Dubček and was replaced during the Prague Spring, making Dubček the correct figure for this period.