Goršek told the press that he and the minister had "different views" on the development of the Slovenian police in the future, which is why he decided to resign after a series of talks with Gorenak.

Neither Goršek nor Gorenak wished to elaborate on what the different views were.

Gorenak already forwarded Goršek's resignation to the government, while the police chief stressed he would continue working to the best of his abilities "until the last minute".

Goršek added that his decision had nothing to do with the operative work of the police force, but rather with strategic management. He believes that differences between the police chief and the interior minister could hurt the police in the long term.

He expressed pride in being allowed to lead the Slovenian police, confident that the force would continue working in line with the people's expectations.

Touching on Turk, who was appointed deputy commissioner in April, Goršek stressed that he had full confidence in his successor.

Minister Gorenak moreover told the press that Turk was not the prime minister's confidant as some reports suggested, expressing incredulity that "such suggestions even come up".

According to Gorenak, "the differences" between police chief and himself had nothing to do with the arrest of journalist and Info TV owner Vladimir Vodušek, which caused speculations in the media.

Vodušek was arrested on suspicion of extortion on 12 July, a day after he hosted Prime Minister Janez Janša on his TV show. Some pundits hinted that Janša was angry not having known about the arrest.

"The police commissioner informed me about the arrest after it took place...as I was at the weekly cabinet meeting at the time and even the police chief could not reach me," he noted.

Goršek was appointed police commissioner by the previous centre-left government of Borut Pahor, while speculation about his dismissal has been persistent ever since the appointment of the Janez Janša government.

The then Interior Minister Katarina Kresal chose Goršek in February 2009 over the seven candidates who applied for the post, which Gorenak, then an opposition MP, criticised as running contrary to the law.

To enable the minister to pick her own police commissioner the then government proposed to parliament to change legislation. Based on the changes, Goršek was appointed for a full term in July 2009.

Unofficially, the procedure to appoint and dismiss police commissioner is to be changed in the autumn, while reports have also suggested a loss of trust between Goršek and Gorenak.

Born in 1965, Goršek has been with the police force since 1984, first working as a policeman and later as a member of the Celje criminal police homicide and sex crime department.

He took over at the helm of the squad for terrorism and extreme violence at the Celje organised crime department in 1996 and became head of the department three years later.

He later headed the property crime department and in 2005 took over as head of the criminal police sector in Celje. He served as Celje police administration chief between October 2008 and February 2009.