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Czech Leader Vaclav Havel Marries Leading Stage Actress

<i> From Associated Press</i>

Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright-turned-president, married a leading stage actress Saturday in a private civil ceremony.

Dagmar Veskrnova, 43, who is famous in the Czech Republic for her theater performances, adopted the feminine version of Havel’s surname--Havlova, said the president’s spokesman, Ladislav Spacek.

Accompanied only by Veskrnova’s 19-year-old daughter, Nina, and two witnesses, they were married shortly before noon at a municipal hall, Spacek said.

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The marriage is the second for both. Havel’s first wife, Olga, died a year ago after 32 years of marriage, and Veskrnova divorced her first husband in 1980 after five years of marriage. The two have been dating since September, Havel’s office said.

The Czech Republic’s new first lady, a native of Brno, is a member of the Vinohrady Theater--one of Prague’s top stages-- and has also appeared in movies.

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