Petr Pithart

Petr Pithart
Petr Pithart in February 2008
President of the Senate
In office 18 December 1996 – 16 November 1998
Preceded by	office created
Succeeded by	Libuše Benešová
President of the Senate
In office 19 December 2000 – 15 December 2004
Preceded by	Libuše Benešová
Succeeded by	Přemysl Sobotka
Senator from Chrudim
In office 1996 – 2012
Preceded by	office created
Personal details
Born	2 January 1941 Kladno, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Nationality	Czech
Political party	Christian and Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party
Spouse(s)	Drahomíra Pithartová née Hromádková
Alma mater	Charles University
Occupation	Lawyer
Website	pithart.cz

Petr Pithart (born January 2, 1941 in Kladno) is a Czech politician, lawyer and political scientist.

He served as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (then part of Czechoslovakia) from February 6, 1990 to July 2, 1992. He has sat in Senate of the Czech Republic since its inception in autumn 1996, serving as its chairman from December 18, 1996 to December 16, 1998 and from December 19, 2000 to December 15, 2004.

Political career

Pithart was member of Communist Party of Czechoslovakia since 1960, was active in the Prague Spring and left the party after the Soviet invasion; later he was one of the most prominent dissidents against the communist regime. He was imprisoned for this activity including being one of the first signatories of Charter 77. In 1989 he was one of the prominent leaders of the Civic Forum founded at the start of the overthrow of the regime. Having participated in the negotiations which led to the change of the federal, Czech and Slovak governments, he was appointed Prime Minister of the then Czech Socialist Republic.

Pithart is viewed by many as an indecisive philosopher and thinker^{[citation needed]}, rather than a tactical or charismatic leader. His 1990-92 Czech government was not capable of dealing with the actions of the federal Minister for Finance Václav Klaus and his increasingly popular Civic Democratic Party nor growing Slovak nationalism which led in the end to dissolution of Czechoslovakia as well as his defeated party, Civic Movement.

Finally, he failed in his bid to become President of the Czech Republic in 2003, losing to rival Václav Klaus due to the government coalition's disunity as well as his unwillingness to do a deal with the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia - a barrier which the more stridently public anti-communist Klaus had no difficulty ignoring or, subsequently, refusing to discuss.

He became a member of the Christian and Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party party and is currently first Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.

External links

• (Czech) http://www.pithart.cz – Official site