Major post-1989 political figure Petr Pithart turns 80

Petr Pithart, a major figure in post-1989 Czech politics, turned 80 on Saturday. Pithart was active in the 1968 Prague Spring movement as a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, before later becoming a dissident and early signatory of the Charter 77 human rights document.

He was a Civic Forum leader during the Velvet Revolution and served as Czech prime minister for two years before the dissolution of the federation with Slovakia. He later served as speaker of the Senate for a number of years.