Václav Havel grew up during the great historical upheavals of the Second World War and the division of Europe by the Iron Curtain. Later he would make his own mark on history. Was he more powerful as a president struggling to bring a more human dimension to politics, or as a prisoner of the communist regime, acting in accordance with his conscience?

In the face of the dangers and challenges of today, it becomes ever clearer that European politics in the decade since Havel’s death has lacked figures of the same moral stature.