Dinner in Honor of President Václav Havel - 2002-11-21

Leaders of European countries and President Bush attended a dinner on Wednesday evening, prior to the opening of the NATO summit, held in honor of President Václav Havel of the Czech Republic on the occasion of his retirement. NATO Secretary General George Robertson delivered a speech at this farewell dinner, which took place at Prague Castle, praising the former dissident who was elected as the first President of Czechoslovakia following the collapse of communism and then as the first President of the Czech Republic. Mr. Robertson stated that the President of the Czech Republic had 'always kept the torch of freedom burning' during the years when Czechoslovakia was behind the Iron Curtain. President Jacques Chirac of France commended the courage of the Czech President, stating that Mr. Havel, as a playwright and poet, used his writings to inspire hope in those deprived of democracy. Mr. Havel spent some time in prison during the 1980s due to his writings as a dissident. When the communist government in his country fell in 1989, Mr. Havel was elected President of Czechoslovakia. Subsequently, after Czechoslovakia was divided into two countries in 1993, Mr. Havel was elected President of the Czech Republic. Mr. Havel will retire next February as he cannot run for the presidency again according to the constitution.