Václav Havel was born on October 5, 1936. He was a Czech playwright, essayist, dissident and critic of the communist regime, later a politician and statesman. He was the ninth and last president of Czechoslovakia (1989–1992) and the first president of the Czech Republic (1993–2003). Havel worked at the Na Zábradlí Theater in the 1960s, where he was also famous for his plays Garden Party (1963) and Notification (1965). Around the Prague Spring, he took part in the political debate and promoted the establishment of a democratic society. After the outbreak of the Velvet Revolution in November 1989, he became one of the co-founders of the anti-communist movement Civic Forum and was elected President of Czechoslovakia on December 29, 1989. After the establishment of the independent Czech Republic, Václav Havel became its first president and remained in this position for two terms, ie the maximum time allowed by the constitution. Václav Havel died on Sunday, December 18, 2011 as a result of long-term health problems.

by Jan Fiala