Slovakia’s foreign affairs minister, Ján Kubiš, announced on Monday, January 19, that he had attended his last government session, and that his successor would be present at the next meeting.
"Today I said goodbye, and at the beginning of next week I'm leaving for Geneva," he said, as quoted by the TASR newswire, adding that he would like to take up his new post as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 27.
Kubiš stated that he didn't know who would replace him, but he does have an idea about who it should be. He has discussed several candidates with Prime Minister Robert Fico, not all of them career diplomats. The premier still has a few days to make a decision. Kubiš expects to step down either on Friday, January 23 or on Monday, January 26.
"The date of the new minister's appointment hasn't been announced yet," Fico's spokesperson Silvia Glendová told TASR, adding that the prime minister will first reveal the name of the new minister to President Ivan Gašparovič. Kubiš, who was supposed to leave his post on January 14, stayed on slightly longer at Fico's request in order to help to tackle the recent gas crisis. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
