President: Stefanik one of most important figures in Slovak history

Milan Rastislav Stefanik was one of the most important figures in Slovak history, President Peter Pellegrini has posted on a social network on the occasion of the 144th anniversary of Stefanik's birth. Pellegrini pointed out Stefanik's contribution to the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic. "With his political talent, diplomatic strategy and ability to respond to the changed power situation following WWI, he made use of the conditions for establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic," wrote the head of the state.

Milan Rastislav Stefanik was born on July 21, 1880 in Kosariska (Trencin region) and died in a plane crash in Ivanka pri Dunaji near Bratislava in 1919. He was an astronomer, military pilot, French military general and one of the first Slovaks to climb Mont Blanc several times. Most notably, he was instrumental in establishing Czechoslovakia in 1918 along with the country's first president Tomas Garrigue Masaryk and second president Edvard Benes.

Source: TASR