Ján Počiatek is a Slovak

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and economist

Economist

An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

. He served as the Minister of Finance

Finance minister

The finance minister is a cabinet position in a government.A minister of finance has many different jobs in a government. He or she helps form the government budget, stimulate the economy, and control finances...

.

He speaks English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 fluently and also has an advanced knowledge of German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 and Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

 . Počiatek is a graduate of the University of Economics in Bratislava

University of Economics in Bratislava

University of Economics in Bratislava is the oldest university of economics in Slovakia.-History:The university was established in 1940 as a private university under the name...

. He graduated in 1997 as a qualified engineer in economics.

For his contribution in preparing Slovakia's entry

Enlargement of the eurozone

The enlargement of the eurozone is a continuing process within the European Union . All member states of the EU, except for Denmark, the United Kingdom and de facto Sweden, are obliged to adopt the euro as their sole currency when they meet the criteria...

 into the Eurozone

Eurozone

The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...

, the international financial affairs publication The Banker

The Banker

The Banker is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by The Financial Times Ltd. and edited in London...

named Počiatek as the "Best finance minister for the year 2008 in Europe."

See also

• National Bank of Slovakia
  National Bank of Slovakia
  National Bank of Slovakia , is the central bank of Slovakia, which is a member of the European Union and the European System of Central Banks. Since 1 January 2009, it has also been a member of Eurosystem.-History:...
  
  
• Economy of Slovakia
  Economy of Slovakia
  Slovakias economy increasingly resembles that of a so-called developed country. With the highest sustained GDP growth in the European Union, reporting 10.4% in 2007 and the highest rating from V4 countries, the Slovak economy has been considered a tiger economy known as the Tatra Tiger. Slovakia...
  
  
• Slovak koruna
  Slovak koruna
  In 1993, coins were introduced in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 haliers, 1, 2, 5 and 10 korunas. The 10 and 20 halier coins were taken out of circulation on 31 December 2003....
  
   former currency of the Slovak Republic
• Slovak euro coins
  Slovak euro coins
  Slovak euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. Slovakia has been a member of the European Union since May 2004, and is a member of the European Economic and Monetary Union...
  
   current currency in Slovakia
• Ľubomír Jahnátek Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic