Jan Fischer, currently the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, has been appointed EBRD Vice President, Operational Policies, effective 1 September 2010.
The decision follows approval yesterday by the EBRD’s Board of Directors of a proposal made by EBRD President Thomas Mirow. Mr Fischer will replace Brigita Schmögnerova whose term as Vice President ends on 31 August 2010.
Announcing the appointment, President Mirow said, “Jan Fischer will make an excellent addition to the management team at the EBRD. His experience as a successful and popular Prime Minister of a country with long-standing links to the EBRD means he is certain to make a particularly strong contribution”.
President Mirow added, “I would also like to thank Brigita Schmögnerova for her tireless dedication to the mandate of the Bank. Her commitment especially to the Bank’s sustainability agenda and her leadership in driving the EBRD’s campaign to highlight gender issues took the Bank to a new level.”
In his role as Vice President, Operational Policies, Mr Fischer will be responsible for developing and maintaining high level relations with the authorities of the countries where the EBRD invests.
He will also have overall responsibility for the formulation and delivery of the Bank’s policies regarding the areas of the environment and sustainability, which are key to the EBRD’s mandate. He will coordinate the preparation of the EBRD’s strategies for investments in each of its countries of operation.
The position covers procurement matters within the EBRD’s Banking operations and oversees the Bank’s Stakeholder Relations Department covering the Donor Co-Financing; Civil Society Engagement Unit; Gender Action Initiatives and the Bank’s political advisory function. The Vice President, Operational Policies, will, moreover, gradually take over responsibility for the Bank’s Nuclear Safety Unit.
Mr Fischer was appointed Prime Minister of the Czech Republic in April 2009. After successfully concluding the Czech Presidency of the European Council he then guided the country as it dealt with the impact of the global economic crisis.
Prior to taking over as head of the government, Mr Fischer had spent six years as President of the Czech Statistical Office, an organisation with which he had enjoyed a long and successful association.
Born in Prague on 2 January, 1951, and married with three children, Mr Fischer has a Masters and a PhD from the Economic University of Prague. After research at the Institute for Social and Economic Information in Prague, he moved to the Statistical Office in 1982 where he was appointed Vice President in 1990 and First Vice President in 1999.
Between 2000 and 2003 he held various positions including a period as a technical expert to the International Monetary Fund before returning to the Statistical Office in April 2003 as President.