"Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, writer and former dissident, who served as the last President of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as the first President of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003. As a writer of Czech literature, he is known for his plays, essays, and memoirs. His educational opportunities having been limited by his bourgeois background, Havel first rose to prominence as a playwright. In works such as ""The Garden Party"" and ""The Memorandum"", Havel used an absurdist style to criticize communism."
"statue of Václav Havel created by Georgian sculptor Jumber Jikia was unveiled in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Václav Havel Library Foundation donated a bust of Havel to Columbia University in New York City. This bust was unveiled on 27 September 2018 while Havel was being honored by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Works by Václav Havel Media interviews with Václav Havel Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, writer and former dissident, who served as the last President of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as"
"Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second President of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. He also served as the second and last Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, federal subject of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, from July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, and as the first Prime Minister of the newly-independent Czech Republic from 1993 to 1998. Klaus was the principal co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), a Czech free-market Eurosceptic political party. His presidency was marked by"
"Dissolution of Czechoslovakia The Dissolution of Czechoslovakia (, ), which took effect on 1 January 1993, was an event that saw the self-determined split of the federal state of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, entities that had arisen before as the ""Czech Socialist Republic"" and the ""Slovak Socialist Republic"" in 1969 within the framework of a federal republic. It is sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce, a reference to the bloodless Velvet Revolution of 1989 that led to the end of the rule of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the restoration of a democratic government in the"
"and the Slovak languages. Dissolution of Czechoslovakia The Dissolution of Czechoslovakia (, ), which took effect on 1 January 1993, was an event that saw the self-determined split of the federal state of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, entities that had arisen before as the ""Czech Socialist Republic"" and the ""Slovak Socialist Republic"" in 1969 within the framework of a federal republic. It is sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce, a reference to the bloodless Velvet Revolution of 1989 that led to the end of the rule of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the restoration of a"
"candidate. After the Slovaks issued their Declaration of Independence, he resigned as President on 20 July, saying that he would not preside over the country's breakup. However, when the Czech Republic was created as one of two successor states, he stood for election as its first president on 26 January 1993, and won. He did not have nearly the power that he had as president of Czechoslovakia. Although he was nominally the new country's chief executive, the framers of the Constitution of the Czech Republic intended to vest most of the real power in the prime minister. However, owing to"
"when he was succeeded by Ladislav Adamec. Karel Urbánek Karel Urbánek (born 22 March 1941 in Bojkovice, Moravia) is a retired Czech politician. He was the last Communist leader of Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution. A former Bojkovice railway station manager, he replaced Miloš Jakeš as Secretary General of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia after a swift election on 24 November 1989. The only important decision he made during his very short term was to cancel the clause of the Constitution which gave the Communist Party a monopoly of power, though Communist rule had effectively ended with Jakeš' resignation. He"
"he delivered the Magistral Lecture to the World Federation of Scientists in Erice, Sicily. Václav Klaus is married to Livia Klausová, a Slovak economist. They have two sons, Václav, also an ODS politician, and Jan, an economist, and five grandchildren. Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second President of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. He also served as the second and last Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, federal subject of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, from July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia"
"after the fall of the communist regime is Václav Havel, last President of Czechoslovakia and first President of the Czech Republic. The current first directly elected president is Miloš Zeman. The Czech Republic has had multiple Prime Ministers the first of which was latter Presidents Václav Klaus and Miloš Zeman. Another Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic were conservative politicians such as Mirek Topolánek, Petr Nečas and social democratic such as Vladimír Špidla, Jiří Paroubek, Bohuslav Sobotka. Diplomat Madeleine Albright is of Czech origin and fluent in Czech. Other well-known Czech diplomats were Jan Masaryk or Jiří Dienstbier. Czechs established"
"willing to agree to a tighter federation, the only alternative was for the Czechs and Slovaks to form independent nations. As Meciar was unwilling to agree to the former option, on 23 July the two leaders agreed to dissolve Czechoslovakia, to take effect on 1 January 1993. Klaus led ODS to another victory in the 1996 legislative elections, and remained Prime Minister in a minority government. However, towards the end of 1997 he was forced to step down as Prime Minister by opponents in his party in connection with accusations of funding irregularities in the ODS. During his term as"
"1993 Czech presidential election The 1993 Czech presidential election was held on 26 January 1993 to elect the first President of independent Czech Republic. The first election was done indirectly by the members of the Czech Republic Parliament. Václav Havel was elected President. The election was complicated only by attacks of Republicans against Havel and by bomb threat to the Parliament. All 200 Members of Parliament voted. Six of them submitted invalid ballots while 22 submitted empty ballots. Havel received 109 votes and thus won the election in the first round. Communist candidate Stiborová received only 49 votes and Republican"
"as prime minister. When Czechoslovak President Václav Havel resigned on 20 July 1992 due to his disagreement with the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, some presidential competencies were handed over to Stráský. From 2001 to 2006 Stráský was the regional head of government in the South Bohemian Region, at which point he left politics. From 2011-2012 he was the director of Sumava National Park. Jan Stráský Jan Stráský (born 24 December 1940 in Plzeň) is a Czech politician, who served as the last Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia in 1992. Stráský studied philosophy and political economy at the Charles University in Prague. From"
"signed a manifesto called Charter 77, which criticized the Czechoslovak government for failing to meet its human rights obligations. On 17 November 1989, a series of public protests known as the ""Velvet Revolution"" began and led to the downfall of Communist Party rule in Czechoslovakia. A transition government formed in December 1989, and the first free elections in Czechoslovakia since 1948 took place in June 1990. In 1992, negotiations on the new federal constitution deadlocked over the issue of Slovak autonomy. In the latter half of 1992, agreement emerged to dissolve Czechoslovakia peacefully. On 1 January 1993, the Czech Republic"
"Karel Urbánek Karel Urbánek (born 22 March 1941 in Bojkovice, Moravia) is a retired Czech politician. He was the last Communist leader of Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution. A former Bojkovice railway station manager, he replaced Miloš Jakeš as Secretary General of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia after a swift election on 24 November 1989. The only important decision he made during his very short term was to cancel the clause of the Constitution which gave the Communist Party a monopoly of power, though Communist rule had effectively ended with Jakeš' resignation. He remained as party leader until 20 December,"
"state. Two days later, the legislature formally deleted the sections of the Constitution giving the Communists a monopoly of power. Barbed wire and other obstructions were removed from the border with West Germany and Austria in early December. On 10 December, President Gustáv Husák appointed the first largely non-communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948, and resigned. Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the federal parliament on 28 December and Václav Havel the President of Czechoslovakia on 29 December 1989. In June 1990, Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia split into two countries—the Czech"
"headed by Václav Klaus. Other notable parties that came into being after the split were the Czech Social Democratic Party, Civic Movement, and Civic Democratic Alliance. On November 25, 1992, Czechoslovakia's parliament (the Federal Assembly) voted to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia starting on January 1, 1993. History of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) Although in March 1987 Gustáv Husák nominally committed Czechoslovakia to follow the program of ""perestroika"", he nevertheless cautioned the party in October 1987 not to ""hasten solutions too quickly"" so as to ""minimize the risks that could occur."" (December 1, 1987) On December 17, 1987,"
"Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician serving as the third and current President of the Czech Republic since 8 March 2013. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As Leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party during the 1990s, he transformed his party into one of the country's major political forces. Zeman was Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Czech parliament, from 1996 until he became Prime Minister two years later in 1998. In January 2013, Zeman was elected President of"
"in Czechoslovakia in 1989, during the peaceful Velvet Revolution, was followed once again by the country's dissolution, this time into two successor states. The word ""socialist"" was dropped in the names of the two republics, i.e. the Slovak Socialist Republic was renamed Slovak Republic. In July 17, 1992 Slovakia, led by Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, declared itself a sovereign state, meaning that its laws took precedence over those of the federal government. Throughout the autumn of 1992, Mečiar and Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus negotiated the details for disbanding the federation. In November the federal parliament voted to dissolve the"
"activist Václav Havel as President of Czechoslovakia on 29 December 1989. Within weeks, Havel negotiated the removal of all Soviet troops (approx. 73,500) from Czechoslovakia. As per the agreement, the Soviet/Russian troops departed within months. Free elections held in June 1990 legitimised this government and set the stage for addressing the remnants of the Communist party's power and the legacy of the Communist period. The main threat to political stability and the success of Czechoslovakia's shift to democracy appeared likely to come from ethnic conflicts between the Czechs and the Slovaks, which resurfaced in the post-Communist period. However, there was"
"the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992. The Ninth-of-May-Constitution was superficially similar in many respects to the 1920 Constitution and contained a mixture of liberal democratic and Communist elements. In contrast, the 1960 Constitution was a fully Communist document. It borrowed heavily from the 1936 Soviet Constitution. This was reflected in the change of the country's official name from the Czechoslovak Republic (which was described as a people's democracy"" after the 1948 Communist takeover) to Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Due to President and party boss Antonín Novotný's devotion to Nikita Khrushchev and oneupmanship among other Eastern Bloc countries, Czechoslovakia was declared the"
"54.8% of the second-round vote, compared to Schwarzenberg's 45.2%. He assumed office in March 2013 after being sworn in. Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the adoption of a new constitution in 1992, the office of president has been filled by votes by a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Czech Republic. The possibility of a directly elected President has been controversial because of concerns that it could weaken a government under the Prime Minister. The 2008 presidential election, which narrowly reelected Václav Klaus after several attempts, however was criticized for the appearance of"
"on 27 June 1990, when it was replaced by the Government of National Sacrifice (, ), also headed by Marián Čalfa. On 5–6 June 1992, the last elections in Czechoslovakia, the Czechoslovakian parliamentary election of 1992 took place. Čalfa's third government was disbanded on 2 July 1992, when it was replaced by the Caretaker Government of Jan Stráský (, ), headed by Jan Stráský. The caretaker government was disbanded on 31 December 1992 together with the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic. Due to federalism, immediately after the 1989 revolution, two national governments (one for the Czech Republic,"
"to celebrate the election of Miloš Zeman as President of the Czech Republic. Čestmír Císař died on 24 March 2013 in Prague, at the age of 93. Čestmír Císař Čestmír Císař (2 January 1920 – 24 March 2013) was a Czech and Czechoslovak politician and diplomat. He served as the first Chairman of the Czech National Council from 1968 to 1969 when the Czech Republic was part of Czechoslovakia during the Communist era. A leading advocate for reforms of the Communist Party, Císař introduced a series of liberal reforms to Communist Czechoslovakia, becoming a major figure in the Prague Spring"
"of Czechoslovakia, technically together with the coalition of the so-called National Front. Before the free democratic elections could take place after the revolution, a transitional government was created. 1989 President of Czechoslovakia Gustáv Husák sworn in the Government of National Understanding (, ) headed by Marián Čalfa and he himself abdicated. It consisted of 10 communists and 9 non-communists and its main goal was to prepare for democratic elections, to establish market economy in the country and to start preparing a new constitution. On 8–9 June 1990, the Czechoslovakian parliamentary election of 1990 took place. Čalfa's second government was disbanded"
"the liberation of Czechoslovakia and the coup in 1948, the Castle housed the offices of the communist Czechoslovak government. After Czechoslovakia split in 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the castle became the seat of the Head of State of the new Czech Republic. Similar to what Masaryk did with Plečnik, president Václav Havel commissioned Bořek Šípek to be the architect of post-communism Prague Castle's necessary improvements, in particular of the facelift of the castle's gallery of paintings. The castle buildings represent virtually every architectural style of the last millennium. Prague Castle includes Gothic St Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica"
"Czech and Slovak Federative Republic After the fall of communism in 1989, Czechoslovakia adopted the official name Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (, ; ČSFR) during the period from 23 April 1990 until 31 December 1992, when the country was dissolved into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This period is also referred to as the Fifth Czechoslovak Republic. Since 1960, Czechoslovakia's official name had been the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (""Československá socialistická republika"", ČSSR). In the aftermath of the Velvet Revolution, newly elected President Václav Havel announced that ""Socialist"" would be dropped from the country's official name. Conventional wisdom suggested that"
"November, the Federal Assembly passed Constitution Act 541 which settled the division of property between the Czech lands and Slovakia. With Constitution Act 542, passed on 25 November, they agreed to the dissolution of Czechoslovakia as of 31 December 1992. The separation occurred without violence, and was thus said to be ""velvet"", much like the ""Velvet Revolution"" that preceded it, which was accomplished through massive peaceful demonstrations and actions. In contrast, other post-communist break-ups (such as the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia) involved violent conflict. Czechoslovakia is the only former socialist state to have an entirely peaceful breakup. A number of"
"1948 coup d'état, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence. In 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed and market economy was reintroduced. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004. The traditional English name ""Bohemia"" derives from Latin ""Boiohaemum"", which means ""home of the"
"Gustáv Husák appointed the first largely non-Communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948, and resigned. Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the federal parliament on 28 December and Václav Havel the President of Czechoslovakia on 29 December 1989. In June 1990 Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946. On 27 June 1991 the last Soviet troops were withdrawn from Czechoslovakia. In October and November 1989, demonstrations on ecological issues were staged in Sofia, where demands for political reform were also voiced. The demonstrations were suppressed, but on 10 November 1989 (the day after the Berlin Wall was breached) Bulgaria's long-serving"
"and last term, finished first with 38.57%, followed by former President of the Czech Academy of Sciences Jiří Drahoš, who received 26.60%. In the second round, Miloš Zeman narrowly defeated Drahoš and was elected for a second term in office. The turnout was 66.60%, the highest since the 1998 legislative election. Former Prime Minister Miloš Zeman was elected as President of the Czech Republic in 2013, defeating Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel Schwarzenberg in the country's first direct presidential elections. Until 2012, all presidential elections in the Czech Republic were indirect, with the president being chosen by the Parliament of"
"Ladislav Adamec Ladislav Adamec (10 September 1926, in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm – 14 April 2007, in Prague) was a Czechoslovak communist politician. Adamec was born in Moravia on 10 September 1926. Adamec joined the Presidium in March 1987 and served as the prime minister of the Czech Socialist Republic from March 1987 to 1988. Upon the retirement of Prime Minister Lubomír Štrougal on 12 October 1988, he assumed the role, thus serving as the last Communist prime minister of Czechoslovakia. He served in the post from 12 October 1988 to 7 December 1989. Marián Čalfa succeeded Adamec as prime minister."
"the President is guilty or not. If the president is found guilty then they are stripped of their office and may not be elected president again. Václav Klaus was elected in 2003 and won his second term in 2008. His term ended in March 2013 as he was ineligible to run for another term. Before his term ended, he announced an amnesty to mark the 20th anniversary of the Czech Republic's independence. The amnesty took effect on 2 January and released all prisoners sentenced to one year or less whose sentences had not been served, and all prisoners over 75"
"1993 Czech Social Democratic Party leadership election The Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) leadership election of 1993 was held on 28 February 1993. Miloš Zeman was elected new leader of ČSSD. Zeman defeated Jiří Paroubek, Petr Miller and Pavel Novák who was endorsed by incumbent leader Jiří Horák. Zeman and Paroubek qualified but Paroubek dropped out of the election and Pavel Novák took his place in the second round. Jiří Paroubek represented so-called ""Rakovník wing"" in ČSSD that supported centrist orientation of the party. Zeman was more left-wing candidate. Zeman's wing was more radical against ODS. The third wing was"