Václav Havel Library loses co-founder Dagmar Havlová amid deepening crisis
The future of Václav Havel Library hangs in the balance following the departure of one of the institution’s co-founders, the late president’s widow Dagmar Havlová. Her withdrawal from the project follows internal conflict which led to the loss of its principal sponsors and 17-member staff.
Havlová co-founded the library in 2004, after Václav Havel left the presidency, together with Havel’s close associates Karel Schwarzenberg and Miloslav Petrusek. Although in recent years she has not worked for the library or taken part in its management, she holds personality rights to her late husband’s name and her presence in the institution gave it credibility.
In a statement on social networks Dagmar Havlova said that she was worn down by the prolonged disputes and no longer had the strength to continue fighting for a project dear to her heart.
“After a long and painful period of consideration and searching for other solutions, I have no choice but to follow Zdeněk Bakala and Karel Komárek [main sponsors]. As of today, I too am regrettably withdrawing from our agreement. Every project should above all bring joy, including to those who bear responsibility for it. I devoted myself to the library, within my capacities and to the best of my conscience and knowledge, for 22 years. I did so at my husband’s wish, while he was still alive. I believed in its original mission until the very last moment.
“I will continue to safeguard my husband’s legacy as he wished. I will continue to work through our foundation. And together with all those who hold Václav Havel in esteem, I will continue, as I always have, to commemorate his life and legacy, especially in the year that would have marked his 90th birthday,” Havlová wrote, adding that she would make no further comments on the matter.
Dagmar Havlova’s decision comes after weeks of internal disputes between library employees and benefactors on one hand and the library’s current director, economist Tomáš Sedláček, on the other. Sedláček has led the institution since March 2025. His appointment and subsequent management style were criticised by the library’s donors, including billionaire Zdeněk Bakala.
In May, the library’s entire seventeen-member staff also announced their departure.
According to the news website Seznam Zprávy, Havlová’s exit may undermine plans by the only remaining board member, David Dušek, to continue the library with new sponsors. As Václav Havel’s widow, Havlová holds personality rights to his name and had granted their use to the library.
Speaking to Czech Radio, Dušek admitted that the situation was grave, but said he was not losing hope that the project could continue in some form.
“What Dagmar Havlová’ s departure means for us is entirely clear. If she is no longer willing to grants it rights—not only personality rights connected to Václav Havel, but also rights related to educational programs—then the institution will lose its fundamental purpose. Right now, I am sitting in the library with a team that I have managed to assemble over the past few days, and we are analyzing the situation and discussing how to proceed.
“I am not saying that the library is finished. It certainly marks the end of the institution as we have known it. But if we are able to revive it and give it a purpose consistent with Václav Havel’s vision -and also with Dagmar Havlová’s understanding of how her husband’s legacy should be preserved -then I believe we may still be able to achieve something.”
How the library’s director Tomáš Sedláček –who is at the centre of the storm - will react to this latest development is not yet clear.
