Václav Havel

Václav Havel was a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, and dissident. He helped lead the Velvet Revolution which ousted the communist government and restored democracy to Czechoslovakia. He served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992 and, following the Velvet Divorce, the president of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003.

Government / Society

Václav Havel on Overcoming Authoritarianism

By Václav Havel

When Václav Havel spoke to the citizens of Czechoslovakia as their president on New Year’s Day in 1990, it was the first time in 40 years a democratic leader delivered the annual address. Havel had the responsibility of ushering in a new year, new government, and new era for the nation.