Rösel is returning to business from NG, Fajt could be the director

Prague - Former director of the National Gallery Vladimir Rösel, who was dismissed by Minister of Culture Alena Hanáková in mid-April, will leave the NG at the end of June. He will return to investment business with Lombard Advisory Partners, which he founded, he informed ČTK today. According to ČTK, Hanáková would like to select Rösel's successor by the end of June, when she planned to step down from her position. The favorite is allegedly art historian Jiří Fajt.
    Hanáková announced last week that she would resign from her position on June 30. According to some experts, she should no longer make such significant decisions, such as appointing the director of the National Gallery. However, if she does not, finding a new director may take a very long time given the political situation.
    Hanáková did not officially say that she wants to appoint a director; the ministry only stated that she wants to complete ongoing matters. This week, she met with three candidates for the position of NG director, and next week, in addition to Fajt, former director of the Moravian Gallery in Brno Marek Pokorný and caretaker director of NG Vít Vlnas are scheduled to present themselves before the committee that is to recommend the best candidate to the minister.
    According to ČTK information, the most likely candidate is Fajt, who has allegedly been approved by the minister as well as party and coalition colleagues. It is unclear whether he will also be agreed upon by the committee that the minister set up as an advisory body in the search for a director.
    Jiří Fajt has already worked at the National Gallery, leading the Collection of Old Art, and left after Milan Knížák took over as head of the NG. After his departure, he applied for the NG director position in response to a call from the Ministry of Culture, and the selection committee recommended to then-minister Václav Riedlbauch that he appoint him. However, Riedlbauch decided not to appoint anyone before the upcoming parliamentary elections and leave the decision to his successor. That was Jiří Besser, who announced a new competition, and besides Fajt and Pokorný, economist Rösel applied, whom Besser appointed as head of NG on June 1, 2011.
    Hanáková dismissed Rösel in mid-April on the grounds that he did not prove that he understood the mission of the gallery and that he is a guarantee for its development. Rösel's departure had been speculated for some time. Considerations about his dismissal were raised several months ago, while the recent period has seen a shift in the functioning of NG, according to experts. The gallery has held several successful exhibitions and, after a long time, has also prepared a major exhibition for abroad.