Mr. Dienstbier’s courage and vision were instrumental in the velvet revolution that brought freedom to Czechoslovakia after 41 years of communist rule. He and his German counterpart, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, literally cut the barbed wire of the iron curtain that separated Czechoslovakia and the West during the Cold War. He will be remembered as a talented journalist, a courageous dissident, and a champion for human dignity and freedom.

My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Jirina, and his three children.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
January 11, 2011