Ivan Zagar was appointed minister without portfolio in charge of regional development and local self-government in a 50-to-11 vote in parliament. The 16th minister of the Janez Jansa cabinet has already been sworn in.
Although acknowledging Zagar as competent for the field, the opposition LDS, ZLSD and SNS abstained from voting, saying that the government parties poorly covered the fields of local-self government and regional policy in the coalition agreement.
The new minister was backed by the coalition SDS, NSi, SLS, and DeSUS, as well as two MPs of the LDS and the SNS.
Zagar, a member of the centre-right People's Party (SLS), was put forward as the coalition's nominee after Darinka Mravljak (SLS) withdrew her candidacy under public pressure for her involvement in a real-estate scandal. Mravljak backed out just before parliament voted on Jansa's ministerial line-up on 3 December.
Zagar, 42, has a doctor's degree in technical science and was mayor of Slovenska Bistrica before being nominated minister.
He highlighted decentralisation and the creation of provinces as his main priorities. He is also set to work on regulating the status and financial autonomy of municipalities, and is willing to put effort into bridging the differences in development across the regions.
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