Vaclav Havel, Czech leader and playwright, dies at 75

[Lord Zentei]

Vaclav Havel, the Czech Republic's first president after the Velvet Revolution against communist rule, has died at the age of 75.

The former dissident playwright, who suffered from prolonged ill-health, died on Sunday morning, his secretary Sabina Tancecova said.

As president, he presided over Czechoslovakia's transition to democracy and a free-market economy.

He oversaw its peaceful 1993 split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Havel first came to international fame as a dissident playwright in the 1970s through his involvement with the human rights manifesto Charter 77.
'Great European'

Tributes have been pouring in for the man many consider a driving force in the overthrow of communist rule in eastern Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed Havel as a "great European" in a letter of condolence to Czech President Vaclav Klaus.

"His fight for freedom and democracy was as unforgettable as his great humanity," wrote Mrs Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany.

"We Germans in particular have much for which we are grateful to him. We mourn this loss of a great European with you," she wrote.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "deeply saddened" and that Europe owed Havel a "profound debt".

"Havel devoted his life to the cause of human freedom. For years, Communism tried to crush him, and to extinguish his voice. But Havel could not be silenced.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter: "Vaclav Havel was one of the greatest Europeans of our age. His voice for freedom paved way for a Europe whole and free."
Chronic ill-health

Havel died at his country home north-east of Prague.

In his final moments, he was comforted by his wife Dagmara and several nuns, his secretary was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

Havel had looked thin and drawn on recent public appearances, the BBC's Robert Cameron reports from Prague.

When he met the visiting Dalai Lama in Prague this month, he appeared in a wheelchair.

A former heavy smoker, Havel had a history of chronic respiratory problems dating back to his years in communist prisons.

He had part of a lung removed during surgery for cancer in the 1990s.

He was taken to hospital in Prague on 12 January 2009, with an unspecified inflammation, and developed breathing difficulties after undergoing minor throat surgery.

Jiri Schneider, a deputy Czech foreign minister, told the BBC Havel had been a unifying figure at the time of the transition from communism.

He had done much to put both Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic on the political map, Mr Schneider said.

"I think that without him it would have been much harder to get the Czech Republic and other countries in the region into Nato and the European Union, back to the family of free nations," he told BBC World News.

RIP to a great statesman.

[Zinegata]

*salutes*

[noncredible]

Though I was born in Slovakia in 1998 (after the split-up), I still feel saddened. RIP

[The Yosemite Bear]

this was the guy who wrote "The Unberable Lightness of Being" right?

either way I will miss him...

[Z-Ha-Dum]

Rest in peace, Mr. Havel. You will not be forgotten.

[MarshalPurnell]

this was the guy who wrote "The Unberable Lightness of Being" right?

either way I will miss him...

No, that was Milan Kundera.

In any case, though long-expected, it is a shame. And a bit of a tragedy Havel did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize before his passing, especially in light of the dubious selections that were made in recent years while his health deteriorated.

[UnderAGreySky]

I'll confess I did not know about him when I first read about his death. However, does sound like a great man. Sad loss. From all descriptions, he not only did good for his country but supported other countries in their post-communist decade.

However, The Guardian, between his obit and tributes has an article* criticising Havel written by a complete asshole called Neil Clark who goes on to say,

"Havel's anti-communist critique contained little if any acknowledgement of the positive achievements of the regimes of eastern Europe in the fields of employment, welfare provision, education and women's rights. Or the fact that communism, for all its faults, was still a system which put the economic needs of the majority first."



*I'm not linking to it because I don't want to give them page hits generated out of curiosity.

[Thanas]

Sad that he is dead. A great European.