Imrich Andrejčák

Imrich Andrejčák (12 July 1941 – 5 September 2018) was a Czechoslovak-born Slovak army general and politician. He served as the last Minister of Defence of Czechoslovakia from July 2, 1992, until December 31, 1992, with the dissolution of the country. Andrejčák the became the first Defence Minister of an independent Slovakia from March 16, 1993 and March 14, 1994.

Biography
Andrejčák was born on July 12, 1941, in the Slovak village of Haniska, Košice-okolie District, Czechoslovakia. He studied at the Jan Žižka Military School in Bratislava from 1955 until 1958 and the Military School in Vyškov from 1958 to 1961. In 1961, he was commissioned as a Czechoslovak Army officer with the rank of Lieutenant. He served as a commander from 1961 to 1968. He then studied intelligence at the Military Academy in Brno in 1971.

Andrejčák was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1960 until the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Towards the end of the Communist era, Andrejčák held the positions of Commander of the 1st Army of the Central Military District from 1982 to 1987, Chief of Staff of the Eastern Military Circuit in Trenčín from 1988 until 1989, and Commander of the Eastern Military District in Trenčín from September 11, 1989, to November 2, 1990.

Following the fall of communism, Andrejčák, who joined the early ĽS-HZDS, was appointed Deputy Minister of Defence of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (ČSFR) from November 2, 1990, until June 25, 1990. He also headed the Czechoslovak federal Minister of Defence's office strategic and conceptual security issues during this time.

Andrejčák served as the last Minister of Defence of Czechoslovakia (ČSFR) from July 2, 1992, until December 31, 1992, within the Cabinet of Prime Minister Jan Stráský. The country split into independence Slovakia and the Czech Republic on January 1, 1993.

Following the independence of Slovakia, Andrejčák was appointed the country's first Minister of Defence from March 16, 1993, until March 15, 1994.

Andrejčák died in Trenčín, Slovakia, on September 5, 2018, at the age of 77. His death was confirmed by his daughter, Blanka Fetkovicova Andrejcakova. Slovak Defence Minister Peter Gajdos and the Chief of Slovak Armed Forces, General Daniel Zmeko, ordered that defence ministry flags be flown at half staff in Andrejčák's honor.

Awards

 * Milan Rastislav Stefanik Order, 2nd Class
 * In 1998, Andrejčák was awarded the Rad Ľudovíta Štúra by Slovak President Michal Kováč.