German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) signs the condolance book for former Czech President Vaclav Havel next to her husband Jochim Sauer (R) at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Berlin on December 20, 2011. Havel, a dissident and playwright who was the hero of the 1989 Velvet Revolution against communist rule and became his country's first post-independence president, died 2 days ago aged 75. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE