Havel, Václav (1936—)

Václav Havel, born in 1936, was president of former Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, from 1989 to 2003. He is a playwright; his work is rooted in the aesthetics of absurd drama of 1960s. One of the most visible representatives of the Czech dissident movement, he became a leading figure of political changes in Eastern Europe in the fall of 1989. Both in his works and his political activities, Havel has focused upon the role of communication and language in thinking and negotiating, exploring the emptiness of Orwellian communist aparatschik language. He manifested this approach to political communication during negotiations with representatives of communist power as well as in his speeches on international forums during and after 1989. In his works, he frequently criticized the ...