Vaclav Havel Dedication Gala Dinner November 18, 2014 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC

Lillis Werder

Gala Dinner in Celebration of 25 Years of Freedom and the Dedication of the Václav Havel Bust in the US Capitol Building, 11/18/14

A gala dinner hosted by the American Friends of the Czech Republic and the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation was held on the evening of November 18, 2014 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.

Václav Havel Bust Was Dedicated on 11/19/14

A bust of Václav Havel, the first president of the Czech Republic, will be dedicated at a U.S. Capitol ceremony on Wednesday, November 19. After the dedication in National Statuary Hall, the bust will be added to the Capitol’s Freedom Foyer, joining Winston Churchill, Lajos Kossuth, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington.

The announcement was made by John Boehner, Speaker of the House, on September 22, 2014.

The bust was unveiled by Mrs. Dagmar Havlova after remarks by John Boehner, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, Congressman Ed Royce and Senator Robert Menendez. Jan Hamacek, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and other U.S. and Czech politicians and dignitaries who also attended the dedication.

Through the prodigious efforts of Elliot Berke and Milton Cerny, members of the VHLF Board of Directors, the US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution honoring President Václav Havel on March 11, 2014.

The author of the bust is Czech-American sculptor Lubomir Janecka. , the first president of the Czech Republic, was dedicated at the U.S. Capitol ceremony on Wednesday, November 19. After the dedication in National Statuary Hall, the bust was added to the Capitol’s Freedom Foyer, joining Winston Churchill, Lajos Kossuth, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington.

The announcement was made by John Boehner, Speaker of the House, on September 22, 2014.

The bust was unveiled by Mrs. Dagmar Havlova after remarks by John Boehner, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, Congressman Ed Royce and Senator Robert Menendez. Jan Hamacek, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and other U.S. and Czech politicians and dignitaries attended the dedication.

Through the prodigious efforts of Elliot Berke and Milton Cerny, American Friends of the Czech Republic and members of the VHLF Board of Directors, the US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution honoring President Václav Havel on March 11, 2014.

The author of the bust is Czech-American sculptor Lubomir Janecka.