Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a
Czech statesman
A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level.
Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to:
Newspapers United States
* ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a ...
,
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
,
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
, and former
dissident.
Havel served as the last
president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the
dissolution of Czechoslovakia
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Rozdělení Československa, sk, Rozdelenie Česko-Slovenska) took effect on December 31, 1992, and was the self-determined split of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries ...
in 1992 and then as the first
president of the Czech Republic
The president of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic.
The president mostly has ceremonial powers as the day-to-day business of the executive govern ...
from 1993 to 2003 and was the first democratically elected president of either country after the
fall of communism. As a writer of
Czech literature, he is known for his plays, essays, and memoirs.
His educational opportunities having been limited by his
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. ...
background, when freedoms were limited by the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...
, Havel first rose to prominence as a playwright. In works such as ''
The Garden Party'' and ''
The Memorandum'', Havel used an
absurdist style to criticize the Communist system. After participating in the
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in
the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First ...
and being blacklisted after the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, he became more politically active and helped found several dissident initiatives, including
Charter 77 and the
Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted. His political activities brought him under the surveillance of the
StB secret police, and he spent multiple periods as a
political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...
, the longest of his imprisoned terms being nearly four years, between 1979 and 1983.
Havel's
Civic Forum party played a major role in the
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
that toppled the Communist system in Czechoslovakia in 1989. He assumed the presidency shortly thereafter, and was re-elected in a landslide the following year and after
Slovak independence in 1993. Havel was instrumental in dismantling the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
and
enlargement of NATO
NATO is a military alliance of Member states of NATO, twenty-eight European and two North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense. The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic ...
membership eastward. Many of his stances and policies, such as his opposition to Slovak independence, condemnation of the treatment of
Sudeten Germans, such as the
expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia
The expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II was part of a series of evacuations and deportations of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe during and after World War II.
During the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, th ...
after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, and granting of general amnesty to all those imprisoned under the Communist era, were very controversial domestically. By the end of his presidency, he 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
Forum 2000 is a foundation and conference of the same name held in Prague, Czech Republic. The Forum 2000 Foundation was founded in 1996 as a joint initiative of the President of the Czech Republic, Czech President Václav Havel, Japanese phila ...
annual conference.
Havel's political philosophy was one of
anti-consumerism,
humanitarianism,
environmentalism
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment (biophysical), environment, par ...
,
civil activism, and
direct democracy
Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are repres ...
.
He supported the Czech
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
from 2004 until his death. He received numerous accolades during his lifetime, including the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
, the
Gandhi Peace Prize, the
Philadelphia Liberty Medal, the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
, the
Four Freedoms Award
The Four Freedoms Award is an annual award presented to "those men and women whose achievements have demonstrated a commitment to those principles which United States, US President of the United States, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaime ...
, the
Ambassador of Conscience Award
The Ambassador of Conscience Award is Amnesty International's most prestigious human rights award. It celebrates individuals and groups who have furthered the cause of human rights by showing exceptional courage standing up to injustice and who h ...
, and the
Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award. The 2012–2013 academic year at the
College of Europe was named in his honour. He is considered by some to be one of the most important intellectuals of the 20th century. The international
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
was renamed
Václav Havel Airport Prague in 2012.
Early life
Havel was born in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
on 5 October 1936 into a wealthy family celebrated in Czechoslovakia for its entrepreneurial and cultural accomplishments. His grandfather, Vácslav Havel, a real estate developer, built a landmark entertainment complex on Prague's Wenceslas Square. His father, Václav Maria Havel, was the real estate developer behind the suburban
Barrandov Terraces, located on the highest point of Prague—next door to which his uncle,
Miloš Havel, built one of the largest film studios in Europe.
Havel's mother, Božena Vavrečková, also came from an influential family; her father was a Czechoslovak ambassador and a well-known journalist.
In the early 1950s, because of his
class background
A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, incom ...
, Havel entered into a four-year apprenticeship as a chemical laboratory assistant and simultaneously took evening classes at a
gymnasium. He completed his secondary education in 1954. For political reasons, he was not accepted into any post-secondary school with a humanities program; therefore, he opted for studies at the Faculty of Economics of the
Czech Technical University in Prague
Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU, cs, České vysoké učení technické v Praze, ČVUT) is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It ...
but dropped out after two years. On 9 July 1964, Havel married
Olga Šplíchalová
Olga Šplíchalová (born September 1, 1975 in Třebíč, Vysočina) is a retired female freestyle swimmer from the Czech Republic, who twice competed for her native country at the Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (fr ...
.
Early theatre career
The intellectual tradition of his family was essential for Havel's lifetime adherence to the humanitarian values of the Czech culture. After finishing his
military service (1957–59), Havel had to bring his intellectual ambitions in line with the given circumstances, especially with the restrictions imposed on him as a descendant of a bourgeois family. He found employment in Prague's theatre world as a
stagehand at Prague's Theatre ABC – ''Divadlo ABC'', and then at the Theatre on Balustrade – ''Divadlo Na zábradlí''. Simultaneously, he was a student of dramatic arts by correspondence at the Theatre Faculty of the
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU). His first own full-length play performed in public, besides various vaudeville collaborations, was ''
The Garden Party'' (1963). Presented in a series of
Theatre of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd (french: théâtre de l'absurde ) is a post– World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for the style o ...
, at the Theatre on Balustrade, this play won him international acclaim. The play was soon followed by ''
The Memorandum'', one of his best known plays, and ''
The Increased Difficulty of Concentration'', all at the Theatre on Balustrade. In 1968, ''The Memorandum'' was also brought to
The Public Theater in New York, which helped to establish Havel's reputation in the United States. The Public Theater continued to produce his plays in the following years. After 1968, Havel's plays were banned from the theatre world in his own country, and he was unable to leave Czechoslovakia to see any foreign performances of his works.
Political dissident
During the first week of the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, Havel assisted the resistance by providing an on-air narrative via Radio Free Czechoslovakia station (at
Liberec
Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants and it is the fifth-largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well prese ...
). Following the suppression of the
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in
the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First ...
in 1968, he was banned from the theatre and became more politically active. He took a job at
Krakonoš brewery in
Trutnov, an experience he wrote about in his play ''Audience''.
This play, along with two other "Vaněk" plays (so-called because of the recurring character
Ferdinand Vaněk, a stand in for Havel), became distributed in
samizdat form across Czechoslovakia, and greatly added to Havel's reputation of being a leading dissident (several other Czech writers later wrote their own plays featuring Vaněk). This reputation was cemented with the publication of the ''
Charter 77''
manifesto
A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...
, written partially in response to the imprisonment of members of the Czech
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording te ...
band
The Plastic People of the Universe; Havel had attended their trial, which centered on the group's non-conformity in having long hair, using obscenities in their music, and their overall involvement in the
Prague underground movement.
Havel co-founded the
Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Prosecuted in 1979. His political activities resulted in multiple imprisonments by the authorities, and constant government surveillance and questioning by the secret police (
Státní bezpečnost
State Security ( cs, Státní bezpečnost, sk, Štátna bezpečnosť) or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it de ...
). His longest period in prison, from May 1979 to February 1983,
is documented in letters to his wife that were later published as ''
Letters to Olga''.
He was known for his essays, most particularly ''
The Power of the Powerless'' (1978), in which he described a societal paradigm in which citizens were forced to "live within a lie" under the Communist regime. In describing his role as a dissident, Havel wrote in 1979: "we never decided to become dissidents. We have been transformed into them, without quite knowing how, sometimes we have ended up in prison without precisely knowing how. We simply went ahead and did certain things that we felt we ought to do, and that seemed to us decent to do, nothing more nor less."
Samuel Beckett's 1982 short play, ''
Catastrophe
Catastrophe or catastrophic comes from the Greek κατά (''kata'') = down; στροφή (''strophē'') = turning ( el, καταστροφή). It may refer to:
A general or specific event
* Disaster, a devastating event
* The Asia Minor Catastro ...
'', was dedicated to Havel while he was held as a
political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...
in Czechoslovakia.
Presidency
On 29 December 1989, while he was leader of the
Civic Forum, Havel became President of Czechoslovakia by a unanimous vote of the
Federal Assembly. He had long insisted that he was not interested in politics and had argued that political change in the country should be induced through autonomous civic initiatives rather than through the official institutions. In 1990, soon after his election, Havel was awarded the
Prize For Freedom of the
Liberal International
Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
.
In 1990, Czechoslovakia held
its first free elections in 44 years, resulting in a sweeping victory for Civic Forum and its Slovak counterpart,
Public Against Violence
Public Against Violence ( sk, Verejnosť proti násiliu, VPN) was a political movement established in Bratislava, Slovakia in November 1989. It was the Slovak counterpart of the Czech Civic Forum.
Velvet Revolution
Public Against Violence (VPN) ...
. Between them, they commanded strong majorities in both houses of the legislature, and tallied the highest popular vote share recorded for a free election in the country. Havel retained his presidency.
Despite increasing political tensions between the Czechs and the Slovaks in 1992, Havel supported the retention of the
Czech and Slovak Federative Republic
After the Velvet Revolution in late-1989, Czechoslovakia adopted the official short-lived country name Czech and Slovak Federative Republic ( cz, Česká a Slovenská Federativní Republika, sk, Česká a Slovenská Federatívna Republika; ''� ...
prior to the
dissolution of the country. Havel sought re-election in 1992. Although no other candidate filed, when the vote came on 3 July, he failed to get a majority due to a lack of support from Slovak deputies. The largest Czech political party, the
Civic Democratic Party, let it be known that it would not support any other candidate. After the Slovaks issued their Declaration of Independence, he resigned as president on 20 July, saying that he would not preside over the country's breakup.
However, when the Czech Republic was created as one of two successor states, he stood for election as its first president on 26 January 1993, and won. Although he was nominally the new country's chief executive, the framers of the
Constitution of the Czech Republic intended to vest most of the real power in the prime minister. However, owing to his prestige, he still commanded great
moral authority Moral authority is authority premised on principles, or fundamental truths, which are independent of written, or positive, laws. As such, moral authority necessitates the existence of and adherence to truth. Because truth does not change, the princi ...
, and the presidency acquired a greater role than the framers intended. For instance, largely due to his influence, the
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM), successor to the KSC's branch in the Czech Lands, was kept on the margins for most of his presidency. Havel suspected that the KSCM was still an unreformed Stalinist party.
Havel's popularity abroad surpassed his popularity at home, and he was often the object of controversy and criticism. During his time in office, Havel stated that the expulsion of the indigenous
Sudeten German
German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part o ...
population after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
was immoral, causing a great controversy at home. He also extended general amnesty as one of his first acts as president, in an attempt to lessen the pressure in overcrowded prisons as well as to release political prisoners and persons who may have been falsely imprisoned during the Communist era. Havel felt that many of the decisions by the previous regime's courts should not be trusted, and that most of those in prison had not received fair trials. However, critics claimed that this amnesty led to a significant increase in the crime rate: the total number of crimes doubled,
as did the number of murders. Several of the worst crimes in the history of the Czech criminology were committed by criminals released in this amnesty. Within four years of the
Velvet revolution
The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
(and following another two amnesties declared by Havel), criminality had more than tripled since 1989.
According to Havel's memoir ''To the Castle and Back'', most of those who were released had less than a year to serve before their sentences ended, but statistics contradict Havel's claims.
In an interview with Karel Hvížďala (included in ''To the Castle and Back''), Havel expressed his feeling that it was his most important accomplishment as president to have contributed to the dissolution of the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
. According to his statement the dissolution was very complicated. The infrastructure created by the Warsaw Pact was part of the economies of all member states, and the Pact's dissolution necessitated restructuring that took many years to complete. Furthermore, it took time to dismantle the Warsaw Pact's institutions; for example, it took two years for Soviet troops to fully withdraw from Czechoslovakia.
Following a legal dispute with his sister-in-law Dagmar Havlová (wife of his brother Ivan M. Havel), Havel decided to sell his 50% stake in the
Lucerna Palace
Lucerna Palace (Czech: ''Palác Lucerna'') is an entertainment and shopping complex in the New Town quarter of Prague, Czechia. In 2017, it was named a national cultural monument.
Design and construction
The building, nestled between Štěpáns ...
on
Wenceslas Square in Prague, built from 1907 to 1921 by his grandfather, also named Václav Havel (spelled Vácslav,) one of the multifunctional "palaces" in the center of the once booming pre-World War I Prague. In a transaction arranged by
Marián Čalfa
Marián Čalfa (born 7 May 1946, in Trebišov) is a Slovak former politician, who served as prime minister of Czechoslovakia during and after the Velvet Revolution in 1989, as well as de facto acting President for 19 days. He was a key figure in ...
, Havel sold the estate to
Václav Junek, a former Communist
spy in France and head of the soon-to-be bankrupt
conglomerate
Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to:
* Conglomerate (company)
* Conglomerate (geology)
* Conglomerate (mathematics)
In popular culture:
* The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes
** ...
Chemapol Group, who later openly admitted that he
bribed politicians of the
Czech Social Democratic Party.
His near friend was
Ivan Medek, who became the chief of the president office.
In January 1996,
Olga Havlová, his wife of 32 years, died of cancer at 62. In December 1996, Havel who had been a
chain smoker for a long time, was diagnosed with
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...
.
The disease reappeared two years later. He quit smoking. In 1997, he remarried, to actress
Dagmar Veškrnová.
Havel was among those influential politicians who contributed most to the transition of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
from being an anti-
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
alliance to its present form. Havel advocated vigorously for the inclusion of former-Warsaw Pact members, like the Czech Republic, into the Western alliance.
[Václav Havel]
"NATO: The Safeguard of Stability and Peace In the Euro-Atlantic Region"
in ''European Security: Beginning a New Century'', eds. General George A. Joulwan & Roger Weissinger-Baylon, papers from the ''XIIIth NATO Workshop: On Political-Military Decision Making'', Warsaw, Poland, 19–23 June 1996.
Havel was re-elected president in 1998. He had to undergo a
colostomy in
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...
when his colon ruptured while he was on holiday in Austria. On 30 January 2003, Havel signed ''
The letter of the eight
The "letter of the eight" was an open letter, jointly signed by the prime ministers of five of the then fifteen members of the European Union together with three high representatives for the Central European countries that were to enter the union ...
'' supporting U.S. policy on Iraq. Havel left office after his second term as Czech president ended on 2 February 2003.
Václav Klaus, one of his greatest political adversaries, was elected his successor as president on 28 February 2003.
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
wrote of the two men in her foreign policy treatise ''
Statecraft'', reserving the greater respect for Havel. Havel's dedication to democracy and his steadfast opposition to
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
ideology earned him admiration.
Post-presidential career
Beginning in 1997, Havel hosted Forum 2000, an annual conference to "identify the key issues facing civilisation and to explore ways to prevent the escalation of conflicts that have religion, culture or ethnicity as their primary components". In 2005, the former president occupied the Kluge Chair for Modern Culture at the
John W. Kluge Center
The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress invites and welcomes scholars to the Library of Congress to conduct research and interact with policymakers and the public. It also manages the Kluge Scholars' Council and administers the Kluge ...
of the United States
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
, where he continued his research on human rights. In November and December 2006, Havel spent eight weeks as a visiting
artist in residence
Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...
at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. The stay was sponsored by the Columbia Arts Initiative and featured "performances, and panels centr
ngon his life and ideas", including a public "conversation" with former U.S. President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
. Concurrently, the Untitled Theater Company No. 61 launched a Havel Festival, the first complete festival of his plays in various venues throughout New York City, including
The Brick Theater The Brick Theater is a venue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that presents dance, performance art, drag, comedy, film, music, experimental theatre, and more. Gothamist has hailed the space as “one of the city’s most reliable sources for smart, funny, ...
and the Ohio Theatre, in celebration of his 70th birthday.
Havel was a member of the
World Future Society and addressed the Society's members on 4 July 1994. His speech was later printed in THE FUTURIST magazine (July 1995).
Havel remained an admired individual by Czech citizens. In ''
The Greatest Czech'' TV show (the Czech spin-off of the BBC ''
100 Greatest Britons
''100 Greatest Britons'' is a television series that was broadcast by the BBC in 2002. It was based on a television poll conducted to determine who the British people at that time considered the greatest Britons in history. The series included in ...
'' show) in 2005, Havel received the third biggest amount of voices, so he was elected to be third greatest Czech when he was still alive.
Havel's memoir of his experience as president, ''To the Castle and Back'', was published in May 2007. The book mixes an interview in the style of ''Disturbing the Peace'' with actual memoranda he sent to his staff and modern diary entries and recollections.
On 4 August 2007, Havel met with members of the
Belarus Free Theatre at his summer cottage in the Czech Republic in a show of his continuing support, which has been instrumental in the theatre's attaining international recognition and membership in the
European Theatrical Convention.
["Belarus Free Theatre Meet Václav Havel]
, press release,
Belarus Free Theatre
', 13 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.[Michael Batiukov]
"Belarus 'Free Theatre' is Under Attack by Militia in Minsk, Belarus"
, ''American Chronicle'', 22 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
Havel went on a hunger strike in 2007 to support Kurdish doctor and human rights activist
Yekta Uzunoglu Yekta is originally a Persian female given name meaning 'the only one'. It is also used in Turkish as a given name (mostly) for males. People named Yekta include:
Given name
* Yekta Jamali (born 2004), Iranian weightlifter
* Yekta Kurtuluş (bor ...
in his legal battle. A former president going on a hunger strike to support the legal battle of a foreigner in his country was a first in world history.
Havel's first new play in almost two decades, ''
Leaving'', was published in November 2007, and was to have had its world premiere in June 2008 at the Prague theater
Divadlo na Vinohradech,
[Adam Hetrick]
"Václav Havel's ''Leaving'' May Arrive in American Theatres"
''Playbill'', 19 November 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007. but the theater withdrew it in December as it felt it could not provide the technical support needed to mount the play.
[Daniela Lazarová]
"Will It Be Third Time Lucky for Václav Havel's 'Leaving'?"
'' Radio Prague'', 14 December 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007. The play instead premiered on 22 May 2008 at the
Archa Theatre to standing ovations. Havel based the play on ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...
'', by
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, and on ''
The Cherry Orchard'', by
Anton Chekhov; "Chancellor Vilém Rieger is the central character of ''Leaving'', who faces a crisis after being removed from political power."
[ The play had its English language premiere at the ]Orange Tree Theatre
The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style.
Th ...
in London and its American premiere at The Wilma Theater
The Wilma Theater is a non-profit theater company located at 265 S. Broad Street at the corner of Spruce Street in the Avenue of the Arts area of Center City, Philadelphia. The company's current 296-seat theater opened in 1996 and was designed ...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. Havel subsequently directed a film version of the play, which premiered in the Czech Republic on 22 March 2011.
Other works included the short sketch ''Pět Tet'', a modern sequel to ''Unveiling'', and ''The Pig, or Václav Havel's Hunt for a Pig
''The Pig, or Václav Havel's Hunt for a Pig'' is the final work by Václav Havel, co-authored by Vladimír Morávek. The English translation is by Edward Einhorn . Originally a short dialogue from 1987 (entitled simply ''The Pig'') and printed ...
'', which was premiered in Brno
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
at Theatre Goose on a String and had its English language premiere at the 3LD Art & Technology Center in New York, in a production from Untitled Theater Company No. 61, in a production workshopped in the Ice Factory Festival in 2011 and later revived as a full production in 2014, becoming a ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' Critic's Pick.
In 2008, Havel became a Member of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation. He met U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
in private before Obama's departure after the end of the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
(EU) and United States (US) summit in Prague in April 2009. Havel was the chair of the Human Rights Foundation's International Council and a member of the international advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Havel was a supporter of the , an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system. From the 1980s, Havel supported the green politics
Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It be ...
movement, partly due to his friendship with the co-founder of the German Alliance 90/The Greens party Milan Horáček
Milan Horáček (born 30 October 1946 in Velké Losiny, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech-born German politician, a founding member of the German Green Party, a former member of the Bundestag (1983–1985) and a former Member of the European Parliamen ...
. From 2004 until his death, he supported the Czech Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
.
Death
Havel died on the morning of 18 December 2011, at the age of 75, at his country home in Hrádeček.
A week before his death, he met with his longtime friend, the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
, in Prague; Havel appeared in a wheelchair. Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Petr Nečas announced a three-day mourning period from 21 to 23 December, the date announced by President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Václav Klaus for the state funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...
. The funeral Mass was held at Saint Vitus Cathedral
, native_name_lang = Czech
, image = St Vitus Prague September 2016-21.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, imagelink =
, imagealt =
, landscape =
, caption ...
, celebrated by the Archbishop of Prague Dominik Duka and Havel's old friend Bishop Václav Malý
Václav Malý (born 21 September 1950 in Prague) is a Czech Catholic priest and a prominent persona of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. He is a titular bishop of Marcelliana and auxiliary bishop of Prague.
Early life
Václav Malý studied at the R ...
. During the service, a 21 gun salute
A 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized of the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor. As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to be fired for heads of state, or in exceptiona ...
was fired in the former president's honour, and in accordance with the family's request, a private ceremony followed at Prague's Strašnice Crematorium
Strašnice Crematorium (in cs, link=no, Krematorium Strašnice) is the largest crematory in Europe in terms of area. President Václav Havel was cremated here. The crematorium was involved in the disposal of those who had been executed by the ...
. Havel's ashes were placed in the family tomb in the Vinohrady Cemetery
Vinohrady Cemetery ( cs, Vinohradský hřbitov) is a large cemetery in Vinohrady in Prague 10 which contains Strašnice Crematorium. It is the second largest cemetery in Prague and is registered in the state list of cultural monuments. The remain ...
in Prague. On 23 December 2011, the Václav Havel Tribute Concert was held in Prague's Palác Lucerna.
Reactions
Within hours Havel's death was met with numerous tributes, including from U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Polish President Lech Wałęsa. Merkel called Havel "a great European", while Wałęsa said he should have been given the Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...
. The Russian Embassy sent an official condolence on behalf of the President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
. Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
declared December 23 a day of national mourning.
At the news of his death, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democrat ...
, a native of Czechoslovakia, said, "He was one of the great figures of the 20th Century", while Czech expatriate novelist Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himsel ...
said, "Václav Havel's most important work is his own life." Communists took the opportunity to criticize Havel. The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia's leader Vojtěch Filip stated that Havel was a very controversial person and that his words often conflicted with his deeds. He criticized Havel for having supported the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, repeating the charge that Havel had called the event a "humanitarian bombing", although Havel had expressly and emphatically denied ever using such a phrase.
An online petition organized by one of the best-known Czech and Slovak film directors, Fero Fenič
Fero or Feró is a given name and family name, and may refer to:
Given name Fero
Fero is a nickname for Ferario and František:
* Ferario Spasov (born 1962), Bulgarian football coach and manager
* Fero, Kosovo-Albanian rapper
* František ...
, calling on the government and the Parliament to rename Prague Ruzyně Airport to Václav Havel International Airport attracted—in a week after 20 December 2011—support of over 80,000 Czech Republic and foreign signatories. It was announced that the airport would be renamed the Václav Havel Airport Prague on 5 October 2012.
Reviewing a new biography by Michael Žantovský, Yale historian Marci Shore summarized his challenges as president: "Havel's message, 'We are all responsible, we are all guilty,' was not popular. He enacted a general amnesty for all but the most serious criminals, apologized on behalf of Czechoslovakia for the post-World War II expulsion of the Sudeten Germans and resisted demands for a more draconian purge of secret police collaborators. These things were not popular either. And as the government undertook privatization and restitution, Havel confronted pyramid schemes, financial corruption and robber baron capitalism. He saw his country fall apart (if bloodlessly), becoming in 1993 the Czech Republic and Slovakia."
Awards
Havel was elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
in 1983. In 1986, Havel received the Erasmus Prize, in 1989 the Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels
is an international peace prize awarded annually by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (English: ''German Publishers and Booksellers Association''), which runs the Frankfurt Book Fair. The award ceremony is held in the Paulskirche in ...
, and in 1990, he received the Gottlieb Duttweiler Prize
The Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI) is an independent think-tank and the oldest organisation of its kind in Switzerland. It is located in Rüschlikon, near Zurich. The GDI is located on the edge of the Park im Grüene.
Established on 1 ...
for his outstanding contributions to the well-being of the wider community. In the same year he received the Freedom medal.
In 1993, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...
.
On 4 July 1994, Václav Havel was awarded the Philadelphia Liberty Medal. In his acceptance speech, he said: "The idea of human rights and freedoms must be an integral part of any meaningful world order. Yet I think it must be anchored in a different place, and in a different way, than has been the case so far. If it is to be more than just a slogan mocked by half the world, it cannot be expressed in the language of departing era, and it must not be mere froth floating on the subsiding waters of faith in a purely scientific relationship to the world."
Havel was elected to the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 1995.
In 1997, Havel received ex aequo the Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities and the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca.
In 1998, the jury of the Europe Theatre Prize awarded him a special prize by the President Jack Lang.
In 2001, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
.
In 2002, he was the third recipient of the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award presented by the Prague Society for International Cooperation. In 2003, he was awarded the International Gandhi Peace Prize by the government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
for his outstanding contribution towards world peace and upholding human rights in most difficult situations through Gandhian means; he was the inaugural recipient of Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...
's Ambassador of Conscience Award
The Ambassador of Conscience Award is Amnesty International's most prestigious human rights award. It celebrates individuals and groups who have furthered the cause of human rights by showing exceptional courage standing up to injustice and who h ...
for his work in promoting human rights; he received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
; and he was appointed as an honorary Companion of the Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the cen ...
.
In 2008 he was also awarded the Giuseppe Motta Medal for support for peace and democracy. As a former Czech President, Havel was a member of the Club of Madrid
Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Composed of 121 regular members from 72 countries, including 7 Nobel Peace Prize laureates and 20 first female heads ...
. In 2009 he was awarded the Quadriga Award, but decided to return it in 2011 following the announcement of Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
as one of the 2011 award recipients.
Havel also received multiple honorary doctorates from various universities such as the prestigious Institut d'études politiques de Paris in 2009, and was a Foreign Associate Member of the French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques from October 1992 until his death.
On 10 October 2011, Havel was awarded by the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili with the St. George Victory Order. In November 2014, he became only the fourth non-American honored with a bust in the U.S. Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...
.
State honours and awards
Honours
Awards
* : Geuzenpenning (1995), Vlaardingen
* : Indira Gandhi Peace Prize __NOTOC__
Indira may refer to:
People
* Indira (name)
Films and books
* ''Indira'', an 1873 novella by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
* ''Indira'' (film), directed by Suhasini Manirathnam
* ''Indira'' (1989 film), a Hindi film (Hema malini as Indir ...
(1993), New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...
* : Gandhi Peace Prize (08/2003), Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
Memorials
Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent
In April 2012, Havel's widow, Dagmar Havlová, authorized the creation of the Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent. The prize was created by the New York-based Human Rights Foundation and is awarded at the annual Oslo Freedom Forum. The prize "will celebrate those who engage in creative dissent, exhibiting courage and creativity to challenge injustice and live in truth".
Václav Havel Library
The Václav Havel Library, located in Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, is a charitable organization founded by Dagmar Havlová, Karel Schwarzenberg
Prince Karel of Schwarzenberg (, born 10 December 1937) is a Czech politician, former leader of the TOP 09 party and was its candidate for president of the Czech Republic in the 2013 election. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies ( ...
and Miloslav Petrusek on 26 July 2004. It maintains a collection of pictorial, audio and written materials and other artefacts linked to Václav Havel. The institution gathers these materials for the purpose of digitisation, documentation and research and to promote his ideas. It organises lectures, holds conferences and social and cultural events that introduce the public to the work of Václav Havel and club discussion meetings on current social issues. It runs educational activities for second-level students. It is also involved in the issuing of publications. The library makes accessible Václav Havel's literary, philosophical and political writings, and provides a digital reading room for researchers and students in the Czech Republic and elsewhere.
In May 2012, the library opened a branch in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
named the Václav Havel Library Foundation. In 2014, the Václav Havel Library moved to larger premises at Ostrovni 13, in the centre of Prague.
Václav Havel Building of the European Parliament
In July 2017, the European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
opened a new building on its official Strasbourg site. The building was named after Havel and decorated with a bust of the former Czech president.
Václav Havel Memory in Zagreb
On 4 October 2016, the day before what would have been the 80th birthday of Václav Havel, his photograph was presented on the fountain in Croatian capital Zagreb. Croatian-Czech Society proposed the Václav Havel Street in Zagreb.
Václav Havel Boulevard and memorial plaque in Kyiv
In November 2016, Václav Havel Boulevard was opened in Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Ky ...
, Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
. The new name has replaced the one given during Soviet era when boulevard was named in honor of the Communist politician Jānis Lepse. In December, First Deputy Chairman Iryna Herashchenko along with Minister of Culture of Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
Daniel Herman and Minister of Culture of Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
Yevhen Nyshchuk
Yevhen Mykolayovych Nyshchuk ( uk, Євген Миколайович Нищук) is Ukrainian theater and cinema actor, Merited Artist of Ukraine and a former Minister of Culture of Ukraine. He held the post from February to December 2014, and a ...
opened memorial plaque in honor of Václav Havel.
Václav Havel Bench
The Václav Havel Bench ( Havel's Place) is an artistic and urban utility project, created by Czech architect and designer Bořek Šípek
Bořek Šípek (14 June 1949 – 13 February 2016) was a Czech architect and designer.
Biography
Born in Prague, he was renowned for his individual, unusual, colorful, and rich style. He experimented with unexpected and often opulent shapes.
...
. It is composed of two wooden garden chairs connected by a round table, which has a hole inside. A linden, the Czech national tree, is growing through this hole. These benches can be found in many Czech towns as well as in some foreign locations such as Washington, D.C., Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
, and Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
.
Sculptures and busts
On 19 November 2014, a bust of Havel, created by Czech-American artist Lubomír Janečka, was unveiled at the U.S. Congress, commemorating the 25-year anniversary of the Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
. Havel is the fourth European ever to be honored by having a bust of himself in the U.S. Congress, after Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
, Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. 31 J ...
and Lajos Kossuth. Another sculpture of Havel is placed in a boardroom of Leinster House
Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core ...
in Dublin, the historical seat of the Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais):
** Dáil Éireann ...
, the Irish National Parliament.
On 22 June 2017 a statue of Václav Havel created by Georgian sculptor Jumber Jikia was unveiled in Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
, Georgia.
The Václav Havel Library Foundation donated a bust of Havel to Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in New York City. This bust was unveiled on 27 September 2018 while Havel was being honored by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democrat ...
.
Works
Collections of poetry
* ''Čtyři rané básně'' (''Four Early Poems'')
* ''Záchvěvy I & II'', 1954 (''Quivers I & II'')
* ''První úpisy'', 1955 (''First promissory notes'')
* ''Prostory a časy'', 1956 (''Spaces and times'')
* ''Na okraji jara (cyklus básní)'', 1956 (''At the edge of spring (poetry cycle)'')
* '' Antikódy'', 1964 (''Anticodes'')
Plays
* ''Life Ahead/You Have Your Whole Life Ahead of You'', 1959, (''Život před sebou'') with Karel Brynda
* ''Motomorphosis/Motormorphosis'', 1960/1961, (''Motomorfóza''), a sketch from ''Autostop''
* '' Ela, Hela, and the Hitch'', 1960/1961, (''Ela, Hela a stop''), a sketch for ''Autostop''; discarded from the play, lost; found in 2009; published in 2011
* ''An Evening with the Family'', 1960, (''Rodinný večer'')
* ''The Best Years of Missis Hermanová'', 1962, (''Nejlepší rocky paní Hermanové'') with Miloš Macourek
Miloš Macourek (2 December 1926, Kroměříž – 30 September 2002, Prague) was a Czech poet, playwright, author and screenwriter.
Biography
During his career, Macourek worked in various professions. From 1953 to 1960, he was a teacher of the ...
* '' The Garden Party'' (''Zahradní slavnost''), 1963
* '' The Memorandum'' (or '' The Memo''), 1965, (''Vyrozumění'')
* '' The Increased Difficulty of Concentration'', 1968, (''Ztížená možnost soustředění'')
* '' Butterfly on the Antenna'', 1968, (''Motýl na anténě'')
* ''Guardian Angel
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...
'', 1968, (''Anděl strážný'')
* '' Conspirators'', 1971, (''Spiklenci'')
* '' The Beggar's Opera'', 1975, (''Žebrácká opera'')
* '' Audience'', 1975, (''Audience'') – a Vanӗk play
* '' Unveiling'', 1975, (''Vernisáž'') – a Vanӗk play
* '' Mountain Hotel'' 1976, (''Horský hotel'')
* ''Protest
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...
'', 1978, (''Protest'') – a Vanӗk play
* ''Mistake
Mistake(s) may refer to:
* An error
Law
* Mistake (contract law), an erroneous belief, at contracting, that certain facts are true
** Mistake in English contract law, a specific type of mistake, pertaining to England
* Mistake (criminal law) ...
'', 1983, (''Chyba'')
* '' Largo desolato'' 1984, (''Largo desolato'')
* ''Temptation
Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...
'', 1985, (''Pokoušení'')
* '' Redevelopment'', 1987, (''Asanace'')
* ''The Pig, or Václav Havel's Hunt for a Pig
''The Pig, or Václav Havel's Hunt for a Pig'' is the final work by Václav Havel, co-authored by Vladimír Morávek. The English translation is by Edward Einhorn . Originally a short dialogue from 1987 (entitled simply ''The Pig'') and printed ...
'' (''Prase, aneb Václav Havel's Hunt for a Pig''), 1987; published in 2010; premiered in 2010, co-authored by Vladimír Morávek
Vladimír Morávek (born 9 April 1965 in Moravský Krumlov) is a Czech theatre, film and television director, screenwriter and actor. His 2003 film '' Boredom in Brno'' won five Czech Lions. Between 1996 and 2005 he was art director of Klicpero ...
* '' Tomorrow'', 1988, (''Zítra to spustíme'')
* '' Leaving'' (''Odcházení''), 2007
* '' Dozens of Cousins'' (''Pět Tet''), 2010, a Vanӗk play, a short sketch/sequel to ''Unveiling''
Nonfiction books
* '' The Power of the Powerless'' (1985) [Includes 1978 titular essay
Online
* ''Living in Truth'' (1986)
* '' Letters to Olga'' (Dopisy Olze) (1988)
* ''Disturbing the Peace (Václav Havel), Disturbing the Peace'' (1991)
* '' Open Letters'' (1991)
* '' Summer Meditations'' (Letní přemítání) (1992/93)
* ''Toward a Civil Society
Toward; ( gd, Tollard) is a village near Dunoon, Scotland, at the southern tip of the Cowal peninsula.
During the Second World War, the Toward area was a training centre called HMS Brontosaurus also known as the No 2 Combined Training Centre ( ...
'' (1994)
* ''The Art of the Impossible
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' (1998)
* '' To the Castle and Back'' (2007)
Fiction books for children
* ''Pizh'duks''
Films
* '' Odcházení'', 2011
Music
* Havel was a major supporter of The Plastic People of the Universe, and close friend of its leader, Milan Hlavsa, its manager, Ivan Martin Jirous
Ivan Martin Jirous (23 September 1944 – 9 November 2011) was a Czech poet and dissident, best known as the artistic director of the Czech psychedelic rock group The Plastic People of the Universe, and later one of the key figures of the Czech u ...
, and its guitarist/vocalist, Paul Wilson (who later became Havel's English translator and biographer) and a great fan of the rock band The Velvet Underground, sharing mutual respect with the principal singer-songwriter Lou Reed, and was also a lifelong Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of ...
fan.[Biographies and bibliographies]
"Havel at Columbia: Bibliography: Human Rights Archive"
Retrieved 29 April 2007.[Sam Beckwith]
"Václav Havel & Lou Reed"
''Prague.tv'' 24 January 2005, updated 27 January 2005. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
* Havel was also a great supporter and fan of jazz and frequented such Prague clubs as Radost FX and the Reduta Jazz Club, where U.S. President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
played the saxophone when Havel brought him there.
Cultural references
Václav Havel has been portrayed, as himself or a character based on him, in a number of feature and television films:
* '' Czech Century'' is a 2013 historical television series chronicling Czech history from 1989. Havel is portrayed by Marek Daniel.
** Marek Daniel also portrayed Havel in a satirical web series, '' Kancelář Blaník''.
* ''Havel
The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...
'' is a 2020 historical film about Havel's ( Viktor Dvořák) life before 1989.
* The Prog-related Art-rock band, Toy Matinee
Toy Matinee was a short-lived American rock band, which released one eponymous album. Their sound featured an array of influences, including progressive rock, AOR and pop reminiscent of both the Beatles and the Beach Boys.
Around the end of 19 ...
, recorded a song about Havel, entitled "Remember My Name" from their 1990 eponymous album released by Reprise Records.
* Havel is mentioned in the song La Vie Bohème from the 1996 musical Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
.
See also
* Civil resistance
Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: it ...
* Hrad (politics)
* List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work wi ...
* Nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, ...
* Mlýny, Czech comedy play
* Václav Havel Human Rights Prize
References
Primary sources
Works by Václav Havel
Commentaries and Op-eds by Václav Havel
and in conjunction betwee
Václav Havel and other renowned world leaders
for ''Project Syndicate
Project Syndicate is an international media organization that publishes and syndicates commentary and analysis on a variety of global topics. All opinion pieces are published on the ''Project Syndicate'' website, but are also distributed to a wi ...
''.
"Excerpts from ''The Power of the Powerless'' (1978)"
by Václav Havel. "Excerpts from the Original Electronic Text provided by Bob Moeller, of the University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...
."
"The Need for Transcendence in the Postmodern World"
(Speech republished in THE FUTURIST magazine). Retrieved 19 December 2011
* . ''Czech.cz'' (Official website of the Czech Republic), 10 September 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007. On personal responsibility, freedom and ecological problems.
Two Messages
Václav Havel on the Kundera affair, English, salon.eu.sk, October 2008
Media interviews with Václav Havel
After the Velvet, an Existential Revolution?
dialogue between Václav Havel and Adam Michnik, English, salon.eu.sk, November 2008
* Warner, Margaret
"Online Focus: Newsmaker: Václav Havel"
'' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer''. PBS, broadcast 16 May 1997. Retrieved 21 December 2007. (NewsHour transcript.)
Biographies
* Keane, John. ''Václav Havel: A Political Tragedy in Six Acts''. New York: Basic Books, 2000. . (A sample chapter n_HTML_and_Portable_Document_Format.html" "title="HTML.html" ;"title="n HTML">n HTML and Portable Document Format">PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
.)
* Kriseová, Eda. ''Václav Havel''. Trans. Caleb Crain. New York:
, 1993. .
* Pontuso, James F. ''Václav Havel: Civic Responsibility in the Postmodern Age''. New York:
, 2004. .
* Rocamora, Carol. ''Acts of Courage''. New York: Smith & Kraus, 2004. .
* Symynkywicz, Jeffrey. ''Václav Havel and the Velvet Revolution''. Parsippany, New Jersey: Dillon Press, 1995. .
*Williams, Kieran.
' London: Reaktion Books, 2016. ISBN 978-1-78023-665-0.
*