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BUDAPEST, Hungary — A committee charged with investigating allegations of plagiarism against Hungary’s president said the politician had written a doctoral dissertation that directly copied several pages from one publication and borrowed heavily from another one. But the panel also noted that Pal Schmitt had identified these publications in the bibliography of his 1992 dissertation, and it did not use the word “plagiarism” in a three-page summary of its findings made public Tuesday. Instead, the panel shifted blame toward the University of Physical Education, saying it should have noticed and called attention to Schmitt’s “unusually extensive” copying. The findings drew the ire of Hungary’s main opposition parties, who demanded that Schmitt resign as president. But the governing Fidesz party — which Schmitt once helped lead as its vice president and which backed his election in 2010 — said it now “considers the matter closed.” Internet publication HVG.hu uncovered Schmitt’s copying in January and first raised the plagiarism issue. The five-member investigative committee at Budapest’s Semmelweis University, to which Schmitt’s alma mater now belongs, included four university professors and a lawyer. The lawyer, Akos Fluck, wrote a dissenting opinion, which also has not been made public. The full 1,157-page report has not been released to the public. It was forwarded to Miklos Rethelyi, Hungary’s Minister of National Resources, who oversees educational matters and is expected to give his opinion on the subject. Schmitt’s thesis was titled “Analysis of the programs of the modern Olympic Games.” | 
