Vaclav Havel, a dissident playwright who was jailed by Communists and then went on to lead the bloodless "Velvet Revolution" and become Czech president, died at 75 on Sunday. The former chain smoker, who survived several operations for lung cancer and a burst intestine in the late 1990s that nearly killed him and left him frail for the rest of his life, died after a long illness.
Havel was with his wife Dagmara and a nun who had been caring for him when he died at his country home, north of Prague. "Today Vaclav Havel has left us," his secretary, Sabina Tancevova, said in a statement.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on Twitter, "Vaclav Havel was one of the greatest Europeans of our age. His voice for freedom paved way for a Europe whole and free."
"We will remember his commitment to freedom and democracy just as much as his great humanity," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "We Germans especially have much to thank him for."