Vaclav Havel, Soul of the Czech Nation, Dies
Dec. 20, 2011
Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright and dissident (disagreeing in opinion, character, or motive) who came to represent the soul of the Czech nation, died on December 18 at age 75. Havel helped lead the Velvet Revolution, which brought an end to more than 40 years of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia without a single shot fired. United States President Barack Obama noted, “His peaceful resistance shook the foundations of an empire . . . and proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon.”
In plays and essays written through the 1960′s, Havel illustrated the absurdities of life under Communism. Although the government banned the publication or production of his works, Havel continued to speak out against government oppression. As a result, he was jailed several times and lived under close secret-police surveillance for decades. After the fall of Communism in Czechoslovak in 1989, the new national legislature elected Havel president. On his first day in office, Jan 1, 1990, Havel stated in his inaugural speech, “We have become [under Communism] morally ill because we are used to saying one thing and thinking another. . . . We have learned not to believe in anything, not to care about each other. . . . Love, friendship, mercy, humility, or forgiveness have lost their depths and dimension.”
Czechoslovakia before the country split into Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 1993. World Book map
As president, he presided over Czechoslovakia’s transition to democracy and a free-market economy as well as its peaceful split in 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. After serving as president of Czechoslovakia for 3 years, he served as president of the Czech Republic for 10 years. Under his leadership, the Czech Republic joined NATO and the European Union.
Additional World Book articles
- Capitalism
- Back in Time 1989 (Czechoslovakia)
- Back in Time 1990 (Czechoslovakia)
- Back in Time 1993 (Czech Republic)
