Vaclav Havel

Former President of the Czech Republic

Václav Havel, the first President of Czechoslovakia after the fall of Communism, is a world famous defender of human rights and was one of the leaders of anti-communist non-violent resistance in his country.

By profession, he is also well known as author and playwright. After two years of military service, the young Mr. Havel worked as a stage technician. From the age of twenty, he began to publish articles in various literary and theatrical periodicals, although most of his works were published and played abroad.

Following the political suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968, the future president became fully engaged in the dissident movement. He was one of the founders and spokesmen of the Charter 77 initiative. In April 1979, he also co-founded the Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Prosecuted. As a result of his opposition to the regime, President Havel spent nearly five years behind bars but also became a leading figure in the Velvet Revolution of 1989.

In 2003 he left political office but remains active in many cultural and social causes. President Havel is the Founder of the Václav and Dagmar Havel´s Vize'97 Foundation.