Damijan Appointed Minister without Portfolio

Ljubljana, 20 December

Joze P. Damijan was appointed a minister without portfolio for overseeing the implementation of the government-sponsored economic and social reforms, as the parliament concluded its regular December session on Tuesday evening.

Damijan was appointed in a 47:23 vote, and will take over as the head of the Office for the Coordination of the Implementation of Slovenia's Development Strategy as of 2006.
The office will be composed of a sector for economic and a sector for social reforms, and will employ 15 people in addition to the minister and a state secretary.
In outlining the reasons for a minister without portfolio, Jansa, who nominated Damijan, said the implementation of Slovenia's Development Strategy must be coordinated on a government level.
Damijan, who has a PhD in economics, was appointed the chair of a government reform committee by Jansa in July. The 200-strong team was tasked with drafting guidelines for comprehensive reforms.
The reforms, whose core measure would be a flat tax rate and radical changes to the social benefits system, were adopted by the government in early November.
The reforms have been met with severe opposition from trade unions, pensioners and students as well as by some opposition parties, chiefly for undermining the welfare state.
Damijan of the Ljubljana Faculty of Economics is the author of various articles as well as a member of the editorial board of the IB revija magazine and the Economic and Business Review.
He has also received various prizes, such as the EARIE young economist prize, as well as a KU Leuven Research Fellowship (2004) and European Commission, DG EcFin, Visiting Research Fellowship (2005).

Damijan Appointed Minister without Portfolio

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