|
|
- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI14103387/00001
Notes
- Scope and Content:
- Keywords: Charter 77, Diplomacy, Dissent, German Unification, Human Rights, Individual Responsibility, Legacy (Havel), Letter to Dr. Husak, Marx, Morality, NATO, Obcanske forum, Philosophy, Power of the Powerless, Prague, Reconciliation, Velvet Revolution.
- Biographical:
- William Henry Luers was born on May 15, 1929. He served as American ambassador to Czechoslovakia between 1983 and 1986. In his role as ambassador, Luers hosted a range of American artists and writers in the Czechoslovak capital, in a bid to “change the vision” of American power from that of a military to a cultural force. Through such cultural diplomacy, Luers made contact and struck up friendships with prominent Czechoslovak dissidents, including Václav Havel. Luers witnessed Havel’s transition from dissident to president first-hand and, later, hosted Václav Havel in New York City on his first visit in office. Luers has also served as American Ambassador to Venezuela, and as a diplomat in the former Soviet Union. Today, he teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Luers refers to Havel as a “unique soul” and “probably the most powerful legacy that the Czech people [will] ever have.”
|
|
