Former Czech Republic president Vaclav Havel dies

Vaclav Havel, a playwright who with his theatre work and passion for politics managed to peacefully bring down communism in Czechoslovakia, died this morning at the age of 75.

He suffered from prolonged ill-health. Reuters reports he was comforted in his final moments by his wife, Dagmara, and several nuns.

Havel will remain known as a hero of the struggle which brought to an end the Cold War.

He was the Czech Republic's first president, elected democratically, after the downfall of the regime. A repression by a regime which Havel ridiculed as "Absurdistan", the regime was brought down by the nonviolent 'Velvet Revolution'.

Vaclav has received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and is a founding signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism.

Beginning in the 1960s, his work turned to focus on the politics of Czechoslovakia. After the Prague Spring, he became increasingly active. In 1977, his involvement with the human rights manifesto Charter 77 brought him international fame as the leader of the opposition in Czechoslovakia; it also led to his imprisonment.

The 1989 Velvet Revolution launched Havel into the presidency. In this role he led Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic to multi-party democracy. His 13 years in office saw radical change in his nation, including its split with Slovakia, its accession into NATO and start of the negotiations for membership in the European Union, which was attained in 2004.