President-elect Zeman reveals his official portrait

Prague, Feb 10 (CTK) - Czech president-elect Milos Zeman, 68, released yesterday his official portrait, a photograph by Herbert Slavik taken on Wednesday, in which he has his hands clasped at the chin.

Official portraits often hang in schools and offices. Similar photographs of Zeman's predecessors, taken by CTK, only featured the face.

Slavik said he was taking Zeman's photos for "less than two hours, including the preparation and everything proceeded entirely professionally and without any problems."

Slavik said Zeman did not interfere in his work.

He wears a dark suit, a white shirt and a classical tie in the portrait.

It will now depend on how quickly Czech Post receives the portrait so that a creative artist can start working on a new stamp featuring Zeman.

According to a previous statement by the post, the stamp could be sold at the end of May at the earliest.

Zeman will be inaugurated on March 8, one day after incumbent President Vaclav Klaus's second and last five-year term expires.

No legal rules say where presidential portraits should be placed in the Czech Republic.

Slavik first worked for Mlada fronta under the previous regime. After the regime fell in late 1989, he worked for the daily that was renamed to Mlada fronta Dnes and headed its photo department for 13 years. Since 2003 he has been a freelance photographer. He focuses on both stylised and non-stylised portraits.

Zeman and Slavik have known one another for some time, Zeman's spokeswoman Hana Burianova said recently.

All Zeman's predecessors had their official photographs taken in CTK.