New Education Minister Pilip Profiled 

BFN 

   Prague April 28 (CTK) -- Ivan Pilip, Christian 
Democratic Party (KDS) chairman and first deputy education 
minister, who was yesterday nominated by his party for the post 
of education minister to replace Petr Pitha, was born in Prague 
in 1963. Pitha, who handed in his resignation for health 
reasons yesterday, is also a KDS member. In line with the 
coalition agreements the post belongs to the party. 
  Pilip is a graduate of the Prague School of Economics (VSE) 
where he majored in international economics and trade. He then 
worked at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and VSE. After 
restitution of family property near Tabor, South Bohemia, in the 
wake of the fall of the communist regime in November 1989, he 
was placed at the head of a medical equipment factory employing 
80 people. Since August 1992 he has held the post of deputy 
education minister (since February 1993 first deputy). 
  Pilip entered political life after November 1989. Before he 
had been neither a member nor a candidate for membership of any 
party. He became a member of the KDS shortly after it was formed 
in 1990. In December 1993 he was elected the party chairman, 
replacing Vaclav Benda. Now the government coalition party has 
10 out of the total of 200 seats in the parliament. 
  Pilip's wife Lucie was Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, but 
left 
the post after her husband became the KDS chairman to avoid a 
conflict of interests. At present she is an executive director 
of the Bohemiae Foundation. 
  Pilip knew Pitha before November 1989 from the Independent 
Intellectuals Group. After Pitha became education minister he 
offered Pilip a position in a ministerial team in charge of 
economic and conceptual issues. 
  Pitha was born in 1938. He graduated from the Philosophical 
Faculty of Prague's Charles University where he studied Czech, 
general linguistics and history. He also studied mathematical 
linguistics at the Mathematical-Physical Faculty of Charles 
University. Privately he studied theology and was regularly 
ordained priest in the Netherlands in 1969. 
  His main task at the ministry was transformation of 
education, but his proposals have been criticised by both the 
coalition parties and the opposition. 
  On March 28, 1994, education trade unions called a protest 
rally against the proposed changes in the management and funds 
distribution at schools. Pitha also came to the rally which he 
commented later: "I do not know what the meeting was about and 
even after my return from Old Town Square (where it was held) I 
was no wiser." 
  After a government session yesterday, Premier Vaclav Klaus 
said that Pitha "has done more than it might seem from the 
skirmishes in the parliamentary Education Committee or from 
media reports." He added that with his humane and prudent 
handling of problems, he will be missed at government sessions. 
  Pitha is the third minister to leave his post early. The 
other two were Health Minister Petr Lom (Civic Democratic Party, 
ODS) and Culture Minister Jindrich Kabat (Christian Democratic 
Union-Czechoslovak People's Party, KDU-CSL). Both of them were 
strongly criticised for their performance in transforming their 
respective spheres of social life. 
  The present government emerged from the June 1992 elections.