President appoints new Culture Minister and head of Office for the Protection of Personal Data

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has appointed actor Vitezslav Jandak culture minister. Mr Jandak says his main priority will be to get his ministry a bigger slice of the state budget and attract more sponsors to rebuild the country's cultural heritage. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek expects the new culture minister to establish a constructive dialogue with the churches - an area, which has proved to be problematic in recent years. Mr Jandak attended his first lower house meeting as culture minister, on Wednesday evening, just hours after his appointment. He replaces the late Pavel Dostal who died of cancer last month.

President Klaus also appointed the former Prague mayor, Igor Nemec, as head of the Office for Protection of Personal Data on Wednesday.

Author: Dita Asiedu