The National Assembly appointed two new ministers in the Robert Golob government on 7 October. Veteran liberal politician Borut Sajovic was endorsed as Slovenia's new defence minister, and long-serving education official Vinko Logaj became minister of education.

Sajovic, 64, has served as the leader of the deputy group of Golob's Freedom Movement since being elected to the National Assembly in the April 2022 election. He succeeds Marjan Šarec, who was elected member of the European Parliament in June.

A veterinarian by profession, Sajovic had served two terms as Liberal Democrat MP, between 2004 and 2011, as well as mayor of Tržič, a town in northwest Slovenia, in 2006-2022, before joining the party founded by Golob.

"Running a ministry is a political function, not an expert one," he said in commenting how his political experience tipped the scales in his favour as several candidates were considered for the post whilst Golob acted as stand-in following Šarec's departure.

But he also pointed out that as a former mayor he was familiar with the work of rescue and protection services, much like his predecessor Šarec was. He has also been a volunteer firefighter for many years, and is a veteran of the war for Slovenia.

Addressing parliament, Golob described Sajovic as "one of the most experienced if not the most experienced politician" in his party and praised his close contacts with people in many jobs.

Sajovic to promote modernisation of equipment and staff

In his parliamentary hearing Sajovic indicated he would build on the "excellent work" at the ministry. His priorities would be further modernisation of the Armed Forces' equipment, expertise and staff with a focus on dual use and upgrading the civil protection and rescue system.

While he was unable to provide details of the planned procurement of the armoured personnel carriers, he said the purchase and the difficult geopolitical situation meant the Slovenian Armed Forces would have to step up recruitment.

While talks on a collective bargaining agreement are ongoing, he believes they will attract more employees if the working conditions, including pay, are good. He also believes that the decision to serve in the army should remain voluntary for the time being.

He argued that Ukraine should continue to be supplied with weapons and equipment until peace is reached, but the goal was for the fighting to stop as soon as possible.

Sajovic is planning to continue to work with his predecessor's key aide, State Secretary Damir Črnčec, who he said "has brought a lot of expertise, knowledge and especially the efficiency" to the job.

Črnčec had allegedly been seen as one of the candidates for the post, but media reports suggested he was not acceptable for Golob's coalition partners because years ago he had been allied to Janez Janša, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party (SDS).

Logaj to implement reform he helped conceive

The new education minister, Logaj is a 63-year-old physics professor with a PhD in management, who has worked in education for more than 40 years, spending the last ten years heading the Education Institute.

In the summer he announced he would be ending his third term at the helm of the institute early in order to retire, but then accepted the prime minister's invitation to become minister.

He succeeds Darjo Felda, who tendered his resignation in a surprise move in September, saying he would like to return to academia. He faced severe criticism from the teachers' union SVIZ for being passive in the face of crisis in education.

In the hearing before the parliamentary committee, Logaj pledged to work to restore the reputation of and trust in teachers and schools, identifying modernisation of kindergarten and school curricula and the pay system as his key priorities.

Golob praised Logaj's varied experiences over the course of his career, which he started as a teacher and head teacher. He also led the CIRIUS centre for special-needs children in Kamnik, which Golob said gave people a different dimension of experience.

As Education Institute director, Golob said Logaj considerably contributed to modernisation of school curricula, and the prime minister is confident that he will now help implement what he conceived at the institute.

The opposition was critical of the two nominees, suggesting Sajovic lacked the right experience for the job, while arguing that Logaj had failed to properly refute the allegations of mobbing, wasteful use of public funds and interference in the appointment of his successor at the Education Institute.

The opposition was also critical of the frequent replacements in the Golob cabinet. Nine ministers have resigned or been dismissed so far, with a replacement yet to be found for Emilija Stojmentova Duh, who recently stepped down as minister of digital transformation. Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič will stand in for the interim period.