Václav Havel dies

Václav Havel, the playwright, poet and former dissident and president of Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic has died at the age of 75.

Havel was a Frank Zappa fan and in 1990 he appointed Zappa as "Special Ambassador to the West on Trade, Culture and Tourism". When visiting Prague in 1990 Zappa was surprised to see that his music was a symbol of independence and the fight for freedom.

BBC News: Havel dies
Radio Praha on Zappa's connection to Prague and Havel