Václav Havel
| Václav Havel | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1st President of the Czech Republic | |
|
In office 2 February 1993 – 2 February 2003 |
|
| Prime Minister |
Václav Klaus Josef Tošovský Miloš Zeman Vladimír Špidla |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Václav Klaus |
| 10th President of Czechoslovakia | |
|
In office 29 December 1989 – 20 July 1992 |
|
| Prime Minister |
Marián Čalfa Jan Stráský |
| Preceded by | Gustáv Husák |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
5 October 1936 Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) |
| Died | 18 December 2011 (aged 75) Vlčice, Czech Republic |
| Political party | OF (1989–1993) |
| Other political affiliations |
SZ supporter (2004–2011) |
| Spouse(s) |
Olga Šplíchalová (1964–1996; her death) Dagmar Veškrnová (1997–2011; his death) |
| Children | None (1 stepdaughter) |
| Alma mater |
Czech Technical University Academy of Performing Arts |
| Signature |  |
| Website |
www.vaclavhavel.cz www.vaclavhavel-library.org |
Václav Havel (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvaːt͡slav ˈɦavɛl]; 5 October 1936 – 18 December 2011) was a Czech writer, philosopher, political dissident, and politician. From 1989 to 1992, he served as the last president of Czechoslovakia. He then served as the first president of the Czech Republic (1993–2003) after the Czech–Slovak split. Within Czech literature, he is known for his plays, essays, and memoirs.
His educational opportunities limited by his bourgeois background, Havel first rose to prominence within the Prague theater world as a playwright. Havel used the absurdist style in works such as The Garden Party and The Memorandum to critique communism. After participating in Prague Spring and being blacklisted after the invasion of Czechoslovakia, he became more politically active and helped found several dissident initiatives such as Charter 77 and the Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted. His political activities brought him under the surveillance of the secret police and he spent multiple stints in prison, the longest being nearly four years, between 1979 and 1983.
Havel's Civic Forum party played a major role in the Velvet Revolution that toppled communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989. He assumed the presidency shortly thereafter, and was reelected in a landslide the following year and after Slovak independence in 1993. Havel was instrumental in dismantling the Warsaw Pact and expanding NATO membership eastward. Many of his stances and policies, such as his opposition to Slovak independence, condemnation of the Czechoslovak treatment of Sudeten Germans after World War II, and granting of general amnesty to all those imprisoned under communism, were very controversial domestically. As such, he continually enjoyed greater popularity abroad than at home. Havel continued his life as a public intellectual after his presidency, launching several initiatives including the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, the VIZE 97 Foundation, and the Forum 2000 annual conference.
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