Vilém Pospíšil

Life and work

He studied law, worked at the Prague Municipal Savings Bank, of which he became director, and after the founding of the republic headed the Banking Office of the Ministry of Finance, the forerunner of the central bank. He was persecuted during the occupation and died in Prague in 1942.

Pospíšil and the Czechoslovak currency

As governor he brought the crown to gold parity (1929) and defended its stability in the Depression; he resigned in 1934 over his opposition to devaluation and was succeeded by Karel Engliš. The Czech National Bank closed its series of 100 Kč commemorative banknotes for the 100th anniversary of building the Czechoslovak currency with his portrait (series: 2019 Rašín, 2022 Engliš, 2026 Pospíšil).