Andrej Šircelj

Andrej Šircelj (born 28 February 1959)^[1] is a Slovenian politician who has been serving as Minister of Finance in the government of Prime Minister Janez Janša since 2020.^[2][3]

Andrej Šircelj
Andrej Šircelj in 2015
Minister of Finance
In office 13 March 2020 – 1 June 2022
Preceded by	Andrej Bertoncelj
Succeeded by	Klemen Boštjančič
Personal details
Born	(1959-02-28) 28 February 1959 (age 65)

Early life and education

Šircelj graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana and completed his master’s degree at the Faculty of Law at the University of Maribor.^[4]

Political career

In the 2011 elections Šircelj became a member of the National Assembly, where he chaired the Committee on Finance and Monetary Policy. He was re-elected as deputy to the National Assembly in the early 2014 elections. During his two terms of office as deputy, he worked in the fields of finance and taxes, chaired the Commission for Public Finance Control and was a member of the Constitutional Commission and the Committee on Foreign Policy.^[5]

In addition to his committee assignments, Šircelj was a member of the Slovenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In this capacity, he served – alongside Yuliya Lovochkina – as co-rapporteur for the monitoring of Armenia.^[6]

Also during his time in parliament, Šircelj served as president of the board of Slovenia’s Bank Asset Management Company (BAMC), a bad bank which bought up non-performing loans from the country’s largely state-owned banks in 2013 and 2014 to get them off their books.^[7]

When Slovenia held the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2021, Šircelj chaired the meetings of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council.

Other activities

• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2020)^[8]
• European Investment Bank (EIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2020)^[9]
• European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2020)^[10]
• Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2020)^[11]

References

1. "Andrej Šircelj". Republic of Slovenia. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
2. "About the Government". Republic of Slovenia. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
3. "Confirmation of Andrej Šircelj as Minister of Finance" (in Slovenian). Retrieved 5 August 2020.
4. Board of Governors: Andrej Šircelj European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
5. Board of Governors: Andrej Šircelj European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
6. Margarita Antidze (21 May 2019), Armenia told to refrain from pressuring judges Reuters.
7. Michael Steen (25 April 2013), Stalled reform and poor governance fuel Slovenia bailout talk Financial Times.
8. Board of Governors European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
9. Board of Governors European Investment Bank (EIB).
10. Board of Governors: Andrej Šircelj European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
11. Board of Governors Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Government offices
Preceded by Andrej Bertoncelj	Minister of Finance 2020–2022	Succeeded by Klemen Boštjančič