In 1977, he rallied Czech intellectuals to orchestrate the "Charter 77," a document ensuring Czech citizens basic human rights. Because of this, Havel was arrested and imprisoned for five years. The official crime stated: involvement with a group called Committee for the Defense of the Unjustly Persecuted.
In 1983, he was released but was subjected to constant surveillance. Nonetheless, he continued to criticize the communist government through the underground press and for this he was imprisoned again until 1989 when an opposition movement which Havel helped organize culminated in a bloodless revolt called the "Velvet Revolution." Soon after Havel was elected President, the nation split into two: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He was reelected in 1993.
A chain smoker, he underwent a lung operation in 1996 and developed complications that almost cost him his life. President Vaclav Havel is revered in his country and is one of the most recognized leaders of the world an inspirational icon to fighters of democracy, symbolizing the "power of one" in changing the course of history through non-violent means.