Václav HAVEL (°1936 - 2011)
Profession: Writer, politician, dissident
Nationality: Czech
Why an honorary doctorate?
In 1990, Václav Havel received an honorary doctorate from VUB.
Democracy pays off
Václav Havel was not the only one to be honoured for his peaceful struggle for human rights and (poetic) freedom in the wake of the end of the Cold War.
Havel wrote, inspired, led, and dared. He repeatedly defied prison walls for his ideals and the welfare of his people.
A passionate, open spirit, who translated the democratic core values of VUB into deeds and gave many a victory.
He was no moral knight, dissident Václav Havel. Freedom was too precious to him, in thought and deed.
He did fight for his ideals, because they led to openness and equal rights for all. His actions did not tolerate a one-man show. Doing good had to be the driving force, not the hunger for possible success. It was that intention that always kept hope alive, because it could never be shaken by the glory of ego, power, and self-interest.
"Work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed."
About his career
The politician
After the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993, he became the first Czech president.
The artist
‘The Garden Party' from 1963 was Havel's debut in the world of theatre. It earned him a name as a respected playwright.
Charta 77
He founded this human rights organisation, which later received much support from the Western world.
1969: Austrian state prize for European literature.
1994: Philadelphia Liberty Medal, for the pursuit of freedom.
2003: International Gandhi Peace Prize.
Writing President
05 October 1936. In Prague, Václav Havel is born into a bourgeois family. When the Communists seize power in 1948, Havel's origins turn out to be more of a disadvantage than an advantage; enrolling in a good education is no mean feat. He eventually goes to university, but that comes to an end in 1957 when he has to do his military service. He faithfully discharges his civic duty and afterwards starts working in various theatres. First as a stage technician, then as a playwright. Meanwhile, he is learning the tricks of the trade at the Drama Academy.
1963. Havel's first play, The Garden Party, is performed, a satire on modern bureaucracy. His work fits into the atmosphere of absurd theatre, with influences from the German-speaking Prague (novel) writer Franz Kafka. Havel also lets his ink flow for magazines and is editor of a literary magazine.
End of the Prague Spring, 1968. The Communist government is not happy with Havel's writings. He is banned from publishing. Too liberal, the leaders consider him, and he and his activities are considered dangerous. But in the West, he makes a name for himself as a dissident and his plays get more and more of an audience. While his own country bans his plays, popular Havel wins the Austrian Prize for European Literature.
1977. Václav Havel, together with a few others, founds Charta 77, a human rights organisation, which later receives much support and recognition from the Western world. Havel is the first spokesman of the movement. Two years later, he is imprisoned for his political activities. Only four years later, in 1983, the Czechoslovakian government releases him under international pressure. Around this time, Havel writes his philosophical work Letters to Olga, his wife and advocate of democracy.
In 1986, Havel receives the Dutch Erasmus Prize. Initially, this recognition was to go to Charta 77, but the Foreign Minister opposed it, considering the matter too politically delicate. After consultation with Prime Minister Lubbers, it is decided to award the prize to the person who most embodies the values of Charta 77. Václav Havel, then.
1989, the Velvet Revolution. In Czechoslovakia, the Civic Forum is founded, a political movement that aims to overthrow the communist regime, albeit peacefully. Havel is the initiator and co-founder. In December of the same year, he is elected president. But after an election victory of Slovak nationalists in '92, he resigns. Against Havel's wishes, the country splits into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
February 93. Václav Havel is elected president of the new Czech Republic. His term lasts five years, and in 1998 it is extended again for as many years. During his presidency, filmmakers follow his every move very closely and without commentary, and later this is made into a unique documentary. It contains never-before-seen international material about a man fervently seeking a balance between a public and a personal life, on the way to a democratic future.
A third election is not constitutionally possible and Havel throws himself back into writing. The last fifteen years of his life are beset by major health problems. In 2011, he dies at home, the playwright, the democrat, the freedom fighter, Monsieur le Président.
What is an honorary doctorate?
VUB has awarded honorary doctorates every year since 1978 to personalities from the most diverse backgrounds who have made a remarkable contribution to their field and to society. From this solemn moment of recognition, they bear the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa of VUB.