Life and works in dates
Vaclav Havel was born on October 5, 1936 in Prague. Father a civil engineer Vaclav M. Havel. M. Sc., mother Bozena née Vavreckova, brother Ivan Havel. Married, no children.
On July 9, 1964 in Prague he married his first wife Olga née Splichalova, born July 11, 1933 in Prague, died January 27, 1996. On January 4, 1997 he married his second wife Dagmar Veskrnova born March 22, 1953 in Brno. No political affiliation.
Professional Career
- 1951-55
Chemical laboratory assistant - 1955-57
Economics Faculty of the Czech Technical University. - 1957-59
Compulsory military service - 1959-60
Stage-hand, ABC Theatre - 1962-66
Student of dramatic art at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts - 1960-68
Theatre on the Balustrades - 1960-61
Stage hand - 1961-63
Literary manager - 1963-68
Assistant director - 1968-74
Freelancer - 1975-89
Freelancer - 1989-2003
President of the republic
Literary and political career
- 1955
Literary debut in the journal Kveten ("May") - 1956
Speech delivered at the meeting of writers at Dobris - 1960 - 68
Successful first night at the Theatre on the Balustrades - 1965
Member of the editorial board of the literary monthly Tvar ("The Face"); chairman of the circle of young writers; critical speech at the plenary session of the Union of Czechoslovak Writers - 7/1967
Speech at The Fourth Congress of the Union of Czechoslovak Writers, after which (on the directive of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party he was crossed off the list of candidates to the central committee of the Union's committee (together with I. Klima, P. Kohout and L. Vaculik) - 3/1968
One of a hundred and fifty writers and prominent people in the world of arts to sign an open letter concerning democratizing process issues which was addressed to the Central Committee of the Czechoslovak Communist Party - 4/1968
Chairman of the Circle of independent writers - 5-6/1968
A six-week visit to USA and West Europe - 8/1968
Author of commentaries for broadcasting from the Liberec studio of Czechoslovak Radio (read by Jan Triska) - 6/1969
Speech delivered at a political meeting in the Cultural House of the K. Gottwald New Foundry in Ostrava - 1969
Cross-examined and accused of preparing the subverting of the Republic - 10/1970
Criminal proceedings deferred indefinitely - 12/1972
A signatory to the petition submitted by 35 writers to the President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to grant an amnesty to Czechoslovak political prisoners - 4/1975
Open letter to President Husak - 1975
Founding of the Edice Expedice ("Expedition Edition") - 11/1975
First night of the Beggars' opera at Horni Pocernice (amateur Theatre Na tahu directed by A. Krob) - the first public performance in Czechoslovakia in sixty years - 8/1976
One of the signatories of a letter to H. Boll with a request for solidarity with the rock group Plastic People and DG 307 who were on trial - 1977
Co-founder of Charta 77, one of the three first spokespersons - 1-5/1977
In custody - 10/1977
Third Festival of Alternative Culture at his country cottage at Hradecek near Trutnov - 10/1977
Condemned to 14 months on probation for disservice to the interests of the Republic while abroad - 1/1978
Apprehended by the police in an attempt to participate in a ball held by railwaymen in Prague at Vinohrady; in custody until 3/78, criminal persecution suspended - 4/1978
Co-founder of the Committee in the defence of unjustly persecuted (VONS), spokesperson - 10/1978
Essay: Power of the powerless - 1978-79
Six-months house arrest - 5-10/1979
In custody - 10/1979
Condemned to four and a half years imprisonment for sedition against the peace of the state (together with P. Uhl, J. Dienstbier, O. Bednarova, V. Benda and D. Nemcova) - 1979-89
A number of successfully staged plays abroad - 3/1983
Interrupted prison sentence for health reasons, released for treatment at home - 1986-89
Member of the editorial board of the samizdat journal O divadle ("About Theatre") - 1987-89
Member of the editorial board of the samizdat Lidove noviny ("People's Newspaper"), one of the initiators and frequent contributors - 9/1988
First public appearance in nineteen years - at the folk festival in Lipnice nad Sazavou - 10/1988
Five days held in custody in a Prague-Ruzyne prison - 11/1988
Member of the established Czechoslovak Helsinki Committee - 11/1988
Arrested after the opening of the symposium of Czechoslovakia 88, held in custody for four days - 12/1988
Speech delivered at the first officially permitted independent demonstration on Skroup square in Prague to mark the International Day of Human Rights - 1/1989
Taken into custody on Wenceslas Square, imprisoned - 2/1989
Condemned to nine months imprisonment and labour in the Second corrective detention group, following an appeal the sentence was commuted to eight months in the First corrective detention group - 5/1989
Released from prison on probation - 6/1989
Initiated and co-authored the petition A Few Words - 6/1989
Essay A word about a word - 9 - 11/1989
Charta 77 spokesperson (till November 9 while Sasa Vondra was imprisoned) - 10/1989
Imprisoned, put in jail in Pankrac, for health reasons taken to the hospital Na Frantisku; released after a few days - November 19, 1989
Initiated and co-authored the introduction to the declaration of the Civic Forum, a leading figure in the Civic Forum - December 10, 1989
The Co-ordinating centre of the Civic Forum proposed him for the function of President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic - December 29, 1989
Elected President of the Czechoslovak Socialist republic by the Federal Assembly of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic - July 20, 1992
Resigned as President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic - January 26, 1993
Elected President of the Republic by the deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Parliament - January 20, 1998
Elected President of the Republic by both houses of Parliament of the Czech Republic - February 2, 2003
The end of the term in office of the President of the Republic
