The Club of Madrid Members and staff are deeply saddened by the passing of Vaclav Havel, tenth and last president of Czecho-Slovakia, first President of the Czech Republic (1993–2003), and Member of the Club de Madrid. We would like to convey our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

It is with sincere recognition and gratitude that we recall his active participation and contribution to our organization, specially during the 2005 Club de Madrid Annual Conference held in Prague under the title “Democracy in the Post Communist World: Unfinished Business. What has been learned and how can it be applied?”. His humanity, humility but also his experience and deep democratic convictions made an outstanding contribution to the analysis of the development and contrasting outcomes of transitions to democracy in the former communist countries, helping shape the message that the Club de Madrid took forward to advance the tenets of democracy and freedom.

We mourn the loss of a great playwright, poet, dissident and politician, a great statesman and a great European whose voice of truth, freedom from oppression and justice so well expressed our organization’s mission and vision. It was for us a true honor to count Vaclav Havel among our Members and friends. His commitment to democracy and non-violent resistance will continue to be a source of inspiration for years to come.

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