Writer and Dramatist; One of the first Spokesmen for Charter 77; Leading Figure of the Velvet Revolution of 1989; Last President of Czechoslovakia; and First President of the Czech Republic

Few living people have successfully managed as much transition as Václav Havel. As first president of the Czech Republic, he oversaw the transformation of his country from a communist state to a vibrant part of new Europe. Václav Havel is one of the Czech Republic’s most famous citizens. He has authored 19 plays and nine works of nonfiction. He was recently named one of 15 Champions of World Democracy, alongside Nelson Mandela, Lech Walesa, Aung San Suu Kyi and Corazon Aquino. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to world peace and upholding human rights, including the International Ghandi Peace Prize and Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience award.



Václav grew up in a well-known entrepreneurial and intellectual family in Prague, which was closely linked to the cultural and political events taking place in Czechoslovakia during the 1920-40’s. It was these links that led the Czech communist government to prevent him from studying formally after completing his required schooling. The young Václav then became a laboratory assistant, taking evening classes to complete his secondary education at the Faculty of Economics of Czech Technical University in Prague. Václav felt compelled to pursue the humanitarian values of Czech culture, through writing plays. However, following the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968, he was banned from the theatre and his political activism began in earnest.



Václav took a leading role in the publication of “Charter 77”, a human rights manifesto written partially in response to the imprisonment of members of the Czech psychedelic band “The Plastic People of the Universe”. His political activities resulted in multiple stays in prison, the longest being four years, and subjected him to constant government surveillance and harassment. He became a leading figure in the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the bloodless end to communism in Czechoslovakia.



During his time as president, Václav oversaw the privatisation of the economy, the joining of the European Union and the transition of NATO from being an anti-Warsaw Pact alliance to its present inclusion of former-Warsaw Pact members. He left office after his second term in 2003. The world premiere of his first new play for 18 years, “Leaving” (Odchazeni), is scheduled to be staged in Prague summer 2008.

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