Havel

American  

[hah-vel] / ˈhɑ vɛl /

noun

1. Václav 1936–2011, Czech writer and political leader: president of Czechoslovakia 1989–92; president of the Czech Republic 1993–2003.

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Havel ¹ British  

/ ˈhaːfəl /

noun

1. a river in E Germany, flowing south to Berlin, then west and north to join the River Elbe. Length: about 362 km (225 miles)

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Havel ² British  

/ ˈhavɛl /

noun

1. Václav (ˈvʌtslav). 1936–2011, Czech dramatist and statesman: founder of the Civil Forum movement for political change: president of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and of the Czech Republic (1993–2003). His plays include The Garden Party (1963) and Redevelopment (1989)

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Example Sentences

Havel tells the apocryphal story of a greengrocer who refuses to place a sign proclaiming “Workers of the world, unite!” in his shop window.

From The Wall Street Journal

Carney’s speech referenced a landmark 1978 essay by Czech dissident and later president, Václav Havel, called “The Power of the Powerless.”

From Salon

Václav Havel and the Civic Forum played the same role in Czechoslovakia.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Rock ’N’ Roll,” which he dedicated to Vaclav Havel, explores the rebellious, Dionysian force of popular music, an eternal source of inspiration for him, in a play set partly in Prague during the Communist era.

From Los Angeles Times

But the choice that Havel set out — of living within a lie or living within the truth — is as potent as ever.

From Los Angeles Times