President to name Mynář as chancellor

Prague, March 10 (CTK) - Brief profile of Vratislav Mynar, future head of the office of new Czech President Milos Zeman who was inaugurated on March 8:

Date of birth: June 23, 1967

Education: graduated from Brno University of Technology, majoring in construction economics.

Current posts: chairman of the Party of Citizens' Rights of Milos Zeman (SPOZ), businessman, member of bodies authorised to represent a number of firms, member of the Zlin Region assembly, assemblyman of Osvetimany, south Moravia.

Previous activities: member of the supervisory council of Ceskomoravska zelezarenska iron company until 2005, among others. Headed Zeman's presidential election campaign.

Others:

- He is married.

- Ceskomoravska zelezarenska iron company, on the supervisory council of which Mynar was sitting, got control of Petrcile firm (that owned 1 percent of shares of the Nova hut metallurgical works and an option for the purchase of another 15 percent stake from the state) that was in litigation with the state claiming a compensation of a billion of crowns. Daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) wrote that under the government of Milos Zeman (1998-2002) the state cancelled the contract with Petrcile and the firm started the above litigation with it. "It was not known for a long time who is behind Ceskomoravska zelezarenska until the controversial businessman Radim Masny claimed it," MfD wrote. Another co-owner was Mynar. "Yes, I had a minority stake in the company," he told MfD.

- According to media, Mynar met in business Miroslav Slouf, Zeman's former adviser and lobbyist. "We met on business ground. And we have long been going for water holidays," Slouf said.

- Last year Mynar was number two on the SPOZ list of candidates for the Zlin Region's assembly. He was not elected, but he eventually entered the assembly as a substitute.

- According to iDnes.cz server, Mynar built a skiing complex, a log cabin and a pension in Osvetimany, south Moravia.

- Czech CSSD presidential candidate Jiri Dienstbier accused Mynar in the pre-election period of participation in distraints and extraction of claims for the Prague Transport Company via Tessile ditta company. Mynar dismissed this, saying he was only a member of Tessile ditta services board in the past. After the presidential election, Mynar dismissed Dienstbier's another statement according to which the SPOZ is not a party, but a lobbyist group around Slouf.

Presidential Office (KPR):

The office is a subsidised organisation with an independent chapter in the state budget. It looks after matters connected with the exercise of the presidential powers, protocol-related duties and the president's public activities. The KPR also looks after the operation of the Prague Castle complex, the presidential seat. Its budget has been about 350 million crowns annually in the past few years. In 2011 the KPR had 114 employees and another some 300 people worked for subordinate organisations.

The KPR is led by the head of the office (chancellor) who is appointed and dismissed by the president.

Jiri Weigl was chancellor during both five-year terms of Vaclav Klaus that expired on March 7.

($1=19.436 crowns)