"Mr. President feels well and is looking forward to the premiere of his film," Sabina Tancevova told Reuters. Tancevova said Havel was going to take part on March 22 in the premiere of "Leaving", a film that he directed and which is based on his latest play. Havel was taken to hospital on March 8.

The 74-year-old former communist dissident and playwright has been seriously ill several times in the past two decades. His health suffered during years spend in jail in the 1980s while he worked in opposition to Czech communist rulers.

He was also a heavy smoker. Havel became Czechoslovak president following the end of communist rule in 1989. He led the Czech Republic for another decade after the country peacefully split with Slovakia in 1993.