Václav Havel

Václav Havel grew up in an entrepreneurial family, and the communist authorities barred him from studying the humanities; he worked as a stage technician before plays such as The Garden Party (1963) made his name. His works were banned after the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion. He co-founded Charter 77, which accused Czechoslovakia of failing to respect its human rights commitments, and was imprisoned several times, most recently from 1979 to 1983. In November 1989 he became the leading figure of the Civic Forum and the non-violent Velvet Revolution. Elected president on 29 December 1989, he led the country to free elections and later served two terms as Czech president until 2003.

Internationally Havel is remembered as a moral voice for human rights and peaceful change, and his library describes him as a symbol of the transition from totalitarianism to democracy. At home his standing declined in the late 1990s, when political opponents and tabloid media attacked him, and his 1997 speech criticizing the moral state of Czech society and its politicians deepened conflicts with party leaders. Some critics, including economic liberals, regarded his emphasis on morality and civil society as vague, and he was unable to prevent the 1992 split of Czechoslovakia that he had tried to avoid.