Švejnar leaves the supervisory board of Prague Airport
Economist Jan Švejnar ended up on the board of Prague Airport, where he supervised since the end of 2018.
It informs about it Echo24. According to the newspaper, it was at the instigation of the current Minister of Finance Zbyňek Stanjura (ODS). The vacant position of rank-and-file member after Švejnar was filled by the deputy mayor of Prague 10, Martin Sekal (ODS).
The end of the supervisory board of the airport as of September 30 was confirmed by the ministry and Jan Švejnar. He then told the newspaper that he did not know the reason for the appeal. The term of office here is five years, and Švejnar ends after four years.
“The Ministry of Finance appointed me to the position and also released me from the position,” Jan Švejnar told Echo24 on Sunday. “The impulse came from their side, I can’t say the reason because I don’t know it,” added the economist.
Prague Airport
Prague Airport falls under the state, the only shareholder is the Ministry of Finance, which as an independent owner determines who serves on the boards. The ministry said that Švejnar quit by mutual agreement.
List The reports turned to Minister Stanjura with a request for an explanation. He did not respond to the sent SMS.
But it is already clear who will replace Švejnar at the head of the supervisory board. “We assume that Stanislav Kouba, Deputy Minister of Finance for Taxes and Customs, who has been a member of the Supervisory Board since June 2019, will be elected as the new chairman,” Echo24 quotes Ministry of Finance spokesman Tomáš Weiss as saying.
Economist Jan Švejnar
Alena Schillerová (ANO) appointed Jan Švejnar to the head of Prague Airport during the government of Andrej Babič. This happened after the company merged with Český Aeroholding. Before the demise of Aeroholding, Švejnar chaired the supervisory board, where he was appointed in 2014 by Schillerová’s predecessor, Andrej Babiš.
Jan Švejnar is a professor in New York at Columbia University. In his scientific work, he mainly focuses on the economy of developing countries and the strategy of transforming their economy. However, he is known to the general public primarily as a former candidate for the president of the republic. In 2008, when the head of state was still elected by the parliament, he was a serious opponent of Václav Klaus, whom he defeated only in the third round of the second election.