Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy

Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy Zvone Černač holds a university degree in law.

An important part of his career is marked by development efforts in the local environment. After the first democratic elections, as a member of the executive council of the Municipality of Postojna, he headed the area of internal administrative affairs. He continued his career in the economy. In the company Postojnska Jama, he worked as an assistant director and head of the general service and then took over as Acting Director of the newly established public institution, Kobilarna Lipica. Until he was elected to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia in 2004, he managed the Municipality of Postojna Housing Fund.

Even after being elected as a member of National Assembly, Černač remained active at the local level and, in the years 2005–2011, non-professionally performed the function of deputy mayor of the Municipality of Postojna, responsible for communal and wider social infrastructure.

After his first parliamentary term (2004-2008), he was elected twice more (2008-2011, 2011-2014). Between 2012 and 2013, he headed the Ministry of Infrastructure and Spatial Planning. He strived for a sustainable transport and energy policy and orderly and modern transport infrastructure, which, in his opinion, is crucial for regional development that is harmonious and balanced. 

Prior to his re-election to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia in 2018, he performed independent entrepreneurial activity. In the last convocation of the National Assembly, he was appointed chairman of the Committee on Internal Affairs, Public Administration and Local Self-Government. He was also a member of the of Infrastructure and Spatial Planning Committee, member of the Public Finance Oversight Commission, member of the Commission for the Supervision of Intelligence and Security Services, and an alternate member on the Commission of Inquiry. Within the expert council of the Slovenian Democratic Party, he heads the Committee on Infrastructure and Spatial Planning.

As Minister for Development and EU Cohesion Policy, he was sworn in on March 13th, 2020. The Republic of Slovenia Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, which he leads, coordinated the preparation of the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan. The plan, approved by the EU Council at the end of July this year, will be one of the most important levers for the country’s digital transformation and green transition.