Vaclav Havel, the Czech Republic's first post-communist president, has died. He was 75-years-old. According to his assistant Sabina Dancecova, the playwright, who was a leading member of the country's dissident movement, passed away on Sunday morning following a long bout of ill heath.
The hero of the 1989 Velvet Revolution, which saw non-violent protests topple the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, died at his house in the north of the country.
During the 1960's, Havel became increasingly interested in politics, using theatre to critique the regime. Following the collapse of the soviet system and the end of the Cold War, Havel spent 13 years in power, overseeing the country's often bumpy transition from Stalinism to capitalism. He left power during the country's peacefully split in 1993, but returned following the consequent birth of the Czech Republic.
Born into an intellectual family, Havel was imprisoned several times for dissident activity, while his plays were banned by the Soviet authorities. He rose to fame during the late seventies with Charter 77, which criticised the regime and set out an informal civic initiative for the country.
Havel was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and was voted fourth in Prospect magazine's 2005 global poll of the world's top 100 intellectuals. He was also a global ambassador of conscience, fighting for freedom and equality around the globe.
Havel had a history of respiratory problems, a condition he believed he picked up in his years in communist jails.