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Czech ex-president Havel out of hospital

Sun Feb 3, 2008 7:49am EST
PRAGUE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Former Czech President Vaclav Havel left hospital after two-weeks of treatment for a heart problem, news agency CTK said on Sunday.

Havel, 71, was admitted to hospital with heart arrhythmia and worsening of his chronic bronchitis on Jan. 19. But his condition had improved enough for him to be discharged on Saturday, the agency said.

Havel's assistant said the former president would consult doctors on his programme in the coming days, CTK reported.

The former leading anti-communist dissident and playwright was elected Czechoslovak president in the bloodless 1989 Velvet Revolution, which ended four decades of communist rule.

He became Czech president in 1993 after the split of Czechoslovakia and led the central European country until 2003, overseeing its integration with western Europe.

Since stepping down, Havel has devoted time to supporting human rights activists in countries such as Cuba and Myanmar. He has also returned to writing and published a new play due to be premiered later this year. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Michael Winfrey)


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