Václav Havel

Václav Havel

Known For

Acting

Born

October 5, 1936

Died

December 18, 2011 (aged 75)

Birthplace

Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]

Biography

Václav Havel (5 October 1936 – 18 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 31 December 1992 and then as the first president of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003. He 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.