“We are not flawless, we made mistakes and oversights, but we did the most from all political parties before. Therefore, refreshing of officials, with the possibility of the replaced again in the future to gain a significant responsibility, if they deserve it, is occasionally necessary.”
This was part of the speech of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at the party congress held in Kumanovo last weekend.
The Prime Minister didn’t mention who are those people who are tired and which officials needed refreshments. But, here are the names of those who were top officials the longest.
Gordana Jankuloska, Zoran Stavreski, Mile Janakieski, Ivo Ivanovski and Sasho Mijalkov are recorder holders by the time spent next to the Prime Minister and their positions – all came to power with him, i.e. nine years ago.
Minister of Interior, Gordana Jankuloska, is one of the closest associates of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and she has been in the government for nine years. We could hear her voice in almost all so-called “bombs” published by the opposition SDSM. Before becoming a minister in the government of Gruevski, Jankuloska worked on several positions in the Ministry of Finance and was Head of Cabinet of the Minister. She was a member of the Council of City of Skopje, and she became Minister of Interior with the establishment of the first government of Gruevski.
The favorite interlocutor of Jankuloska, Minister of Finance Zoran Stavreski, was Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs in the first government of Gruevski and has been by Gruevski also for nine years. He worked as coordinator of ministries covering economic fields: policies, projects and reform activities of the government and so on. He was appointed Minister of Finance in 2009.
Known as the biggest supporter of Prime Minister Gruevski, a man who meets his every need, Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski assumed this position in 2006. Previously he served as General Manager of “Water supply and sewage” and, in 2004, he was appointed chief of staff of VMRO-DPMNE.
Although unexpectedly, this list also includes Minister of Information Society Ivo Ivanovski, who is one of the people who are in the narrow circle of associates of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski since the very beginning. In 2006, Ivanovski was appointed minister without portfolio in charge of information society and in 2008 he became Minister of Information Society.
The cousin of Prime Minister Gruevski, Sasho Mijalkov, is also by his side since the very beginning. On 29th of August 2006, he was appointed Director of the Security and Counterintelligence Agency.
General Secretary of the Government Kiril Bozhinovski was appointed in 2007. In the “bombs” announced by the opposition, Bozhinovski can be mostly heard in those discussions where electoral irregularities are agreed.
