Edvard Beneš (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɛdvard ˈbɛnɛʃ] (13px ); 17 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a leader of the Czechoslovak independence movement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second President of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938 and again from 1940 to 1948. He was known as a skilled diplomat.