Mr Andrej Bajuk was recently appointed Finance Minister in the Slovenian Government, to succeed Mr Mramor.

Mr Bajuk, who is 61, is an economics graduate of the University of Mendoza (Argentina) and has a PhD from the University of Berkeley (California). He worked at the World Bank and then the Inter-American Development Bank, which appointed him its representative for Europe in 1994. Returning to Slovenia in 1999, Mr Bajuk held the post of Deputy Chairman of the new political alliance comprising the Slovenian Christian Democrats (SKD) and the Slovenian People's Party (SLS). From May to November 2000, he served as Prime Minister. Following a policy shift by SDK-SLS, Mr Bajuk resigned from his party and founded a new one, called the New Slovenia-Christian People's Party.