Ivan Pilip
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Ivan Pilip (born 4 August 1963 in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
) is a
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politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
and
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
who was
finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
from June 1997 to July 1998, after having been the Minister of Education, Youth and Sport from 1994 to 1997. Pilip was educated as an economist, before entering politics in the
Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
(KDS) after the fall of
Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
in the Czech Republic. Pilip served in government from 1992 to 1998, leading the KDS before it merged with the Civic Democratic Party. Pilip was among the
deputies A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nati ...
who split from the Civic Democrats to form the Freedom Union and in 1998 he went into opposition. Pilip was detained in
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
in early 2001 for almost a month after meeting opponents of the Cuban government, before being released after international pressure on Cuba. He lost his seat in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
in 2002, but would serve as interim leader of Freedom Union for a period afterwards, before serving as a Vice-President at the
European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...
from 2004 to 2007.


Early life

Ivan Pilip gained a degree in international business and trade at the University of Economics in Prague and did
post-graduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
studies at the
Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...
. Before the
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...
at the end of 1989, Pilip was not involved in politics, having jobs at the university in Prague and at the
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...
. However following the end of
Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
in 1989 Pilip became manager of a medical equipment factory and joined the Christian Democratic Party after it was founded in 1990. Pilip is married to Lucie Pilipova, who was a foreign ministry spokesperson, until she left the role when her husband became chairman of the KDS to avoid any
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...
.


Political career

The KDS fought the 1992 Czech election in alliance with the Civic Democrats and became a junior partner in a coalition led by the Civic Democrats. In August 1992 Pilip was appointed deputy education minister in the coalition government, before becoming
Education Minister An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...
in 1994, replacing Petr Piťha who had brought him into the government. Pilip was elected chairman of the KDS in December 1993, succeeding Vaclav Benda, after winning an election for the party leadership. However in 1995 the KDS agreed to merge with the Civic Democrats, with 5 of the 10 KDS deputies, including Pilip, joining the Civic Democrats. Pilip stayed as Education Minister after the merger, but became seen as a leading figure within the Civic Democrats, before becoming
finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
in the summer of 1997. In the second half of 1997 pressure built on the
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...
, over a donation to the Civic Democrats from a businessman who had recently gained a significant stake in a company privatised by the government. After the
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
, Josef Zieleniec, resigned in October 1997, Ivan Pilip called on Klaus to resign on 28 November and around the same time the 2 junior parties in the coalition quit the government. Klaus resigned as Prime Minister on 30 November and Pilip said he would challenge Klaus for the leadership of the Civic Democratic Party if no one else did. On 7 December a bomb exploded outside Pilip's house, causing no injuries, but alarming many. Klaus was re-elected as leader of the Civic Democrats, but Pilip continued on as Finance Minister, along with 3 other rebel Civic Democrats, in a
caretaker government A caretaker government, also known as a caretaker regime, is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it co ...
led by the Governor of the
Czech National Bank The Czech National Bank, (, ČNB) is the central bank and financial market supervisor in the Czech Republic, headquartered in Prague. It is a member of the European System of Central Banks. It was established on from the division of the State ...
,
Josef Tošovský Josef Tošovský () (born 28 September 1950) is a Czech economist and former governor of Czech National Bank (from 1993 to 2000). From 17 December 1997 to 22 July 1998 he was the prime minister of the Czech Republic in a caretaker government. C ...
. The rebel members of the Civic Democrats, including Pilip and 30 of the 69 deputies from the Civic Democratic Party, founded a new political party, the Freedom Union, under the leadership of the former
interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...
Jan Ruml Jan Ruml (born 5 March 1953 in Prague) is a Czech politician who was interior minister from 1992 to 1997. Government career Before becoming Interior Minister, Jan Ruml served as deputy Interior Minister in 1991. Jan Ruml announced his resignatio ...
. However at the 1998 election Freedom Union only won 19 seats, compared to 63 for the Civic Democrats, with Ivan Pilip being one of the elected deputies. Following the election Freedom Union went into opposition, after the
Czech Social Democratic Party Social Democracy (, SOCDEM), known as the Czech Social Democratic Party (, ČSSD) until 10 June 2023, is a social democratic political party in the Czech Republic. Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum and holding pro-European ...
formed a minority government, which was tolerated by the Civic Democrats.


Arrest in Cuba

On 12 January 2001 Ivan Pilip and Jan Bubenik, a former student leader, were arrested in
Ciego de Ávila Ciego de Ávila () is a city in the central part of Cuba and the capital of Ciego de Ávila Province. The capital city has a population of about 156,322 and the province 430,507. Geography Ciego de Ávila lies on the Carretera Central highway a ...
in Cuba. The Cubans said this was because they had met
Cuban dissidents The Cuban dissident movement is a political movement in Cuba whose aim is to replace the current government with a liberal democracy. According to Human Rights Watch, the Marxist-Leninist Cuban government represses nearly all forms of political ...
on a trip partly funded by the American organisation
Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...
and as a result the Cuban authorities charged them with
subversion Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to sabotage the established social order and its structures of Power (philosophy), power, authority, tradition, h ...
. They were taken to a jail in Havana and Cuba threatened to keep them in prison for a long time, potentially up to 20 years, as an example to others. The detention of Pilip and Bubenik caused international outrage, with countries in Europe and Latin America calling for their release, and relations between Cuba and the Czech Republic broke down over the issue. Meanwhile Ivan Pilip's wife, Lucie, came to Cuba and met her husband while he was being detained in Havana and called for international help to obtain his release. However the Cuban government said they had been "conspiring against the revolution" and the official Communist Party newspaper, Granma, called them "agents working for the Cuban-American Mafia in the United States." At the beginning of February the president of the
Czech Senate The Senate () is the upper house of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague. Structure The Senate has 81 members, chosen in single-seat constituencies through the two-round system. If no ...
,
Petr Pithart Petr Pithart (born 2 January 1941) is a Czech politician, lawyer and political scientist who served as Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (then a federal region of Czechoslovakia) from 6 February 1990 to 2 July 1992. He was also the Senator fo ...
came to Cuba and met the Cuban leader,
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
, for six hours to try and obtain the release of Pilip and Bubenik. Pithart returned home on 4 February without Pilip and Bubenik, but he was later credited with paving the way for their release. On 5 February Pilip and Bubenik were released after a meeting at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, where they admitted breaking Cuban law unwittingly. The meeting was attended by members of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...
, who said Pilip and Bubenik then left Cuba as
tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...
s.


Later career

At the 2002 election Freedom Union fought the election in an alliance with the
Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Ch ...
, but the parties were reduced to 31 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, 8 down on what the parties had won separately in 1998. Pilip was not elected as a deputy, but as first deputy chairman of Freedom Union, became acting leader of the party after the resignation of Hana Marvanova during post-election talks on the formation of a new government. Freedom Union became a junior party in a coalition led by the Social Democratic Party, while Pilip remained acting leader of the party until Petr Mares was elected as the new leader in January 2003. In June 2004 Pilip was appointed as one of eight Vice-Presidents of the European Investment Bank, the first from any of the states that joined the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
in 2004. Pilip served a 3-year term as Vice-President until the summer of 2007.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilip, Ivan Living people 1963 births Finance ministers of the Czech Republic Education ministers of the Czech Republic Czechoslovak economists Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic) MPs Freedom Union – Democratic Union MPs Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic) Government ministers Christian Democratic Party (Czech Republic) politicians Leaders of the Freedom Union – Democratic Union Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (1996–1998) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic (1998–2002) Politicians from Prague 20th-century Czech economists