Karol Šmidke (21 January 1897 – 15 December 1952) was a Slovak communist politician, resistance fighter, and a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.

[1] Šmidke was Co-President of the Presidium of the Slovak National Council (with Vavro Srobar) 5 September - c. 23 October 1944, Co-Speaker of the Slovak National Council (with Jozef Lettrich) 14 September 1945 - 26 February 1948, Acting Speaker from 26 February to 12 March 1948 and Speaker 12 March 1948 - 14 July 1950.

He was also the first President of the Board of Commissioners from 18 September 1945 until 14 August 1946, when he was succeeded by Gustáv Husák.

[2] In 1950 he lost his position in the party and was put under investigation, alongside Gustáv Husák, Laco Novomeský, and Vladimír Clementis, under accusations of being a "bourgeois nationalist".

[3] He would die under unclear circumstances in 1952 before he was to be put on trial.