Havel , Vaclav , b 1936 , Czech writer and statesman

Vaclav Havel (1936-) was born in Prague and first published his writings in literary journals in 1955. In 1968 as a result of his campaigning for human rights Havel was identified by the Czech Government as a dissident. Resultingly in 1971 his works were officially banned and later Havel was forced to take work in a brewery. In 1977 Havel was a co-founder of Charter 77, a human rights movement. He was put under house arrest and in 1979 was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sedition. During this time his plays were becoming better known and performed in the West. In 1988 Havel assumed leadership of the Civic Forum opposition group and after the resignation of the Communist Government he was elected President of Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) in 1989.