The director of the National Gallery in Prague will be Fajt from January 1, 2014

Prague - The director of the National Gallery in Prague will be art historian Jiří Fajt starting January 1 of next year. Culture Minister Jiří Balvín announced this after their meeting today. Balvín confirmed the decision of his predecessor Alena Hanáková (TOP 09 and STAN), which he had initially challenged.
    Hanáková had already appointed Fajt as of September 1; today Balvín and Fajt agreed that he will indeed start working from September, but will officially take office at the beginning of next year.
    "We agreed that the date of his appointment as the director of the National Gallery does not change, but the date he takes up the position does change. However, I will start working on September 1. I still have no idea about the organizational matters, what commitments that institution has, what its dramaturgical plan is. Therefore, starting September 1, I will begin meeting with relevant people, in addition, I need space to modify my concept," Fajt told reporters.
    According to Balvín, Fajt's entry into the National Gallery is not straightforward. "He has commitments abroad; on the other hand, a number of steps need to be taken, a guarantee council needs to be set up, and an audit needs to be conducted. So he will start working on September 1, but the beginning of his term will be postponed to January 1 next year," said Balvín, expressing hope that by then the political situation will have stabilized and the budget, which will also consider the National Gallery, will be approved.
    At the beginning of July, the outgoing minister Hanáková appointed Fajt, stating that he should become the director on September 1. Balvín deemed this step by the minister just before her departure from office inappropriate. Some experts also criticized the decision in light of the political situation, although they did not question Fajt's qualifications. Fajt had previously stated that he perceives his appointment as professional and non-political.
    Following the dismissal of the incoming director of the National Theatre, Jan Burian, on August 1, it seemed that Balvín would also require an open selection process for the National Gallery. He originally argued this absence during Burian's dismissal. After a tumultuous reaction from experts, artists, and politicians regarding his move and after intervention from Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok, he reappointed Burian to the position and took time to reflect regarding the National Gallery following his meeting with Fajt on August 2.
    After the first meeting with Fajt, the minister declared that he wanted to adhere to the originally set date for the new director's start at the National Gallery in Prague, namely September 1. Fajt stated that he would not apply for any further potential selection process.
    Fajt participated in two competitions for the general director of the National Gallery in 2010 and 2011. In April 2010, the selection committee recommended him to be appointed as the head of the National Gallery, but former minister of the caretaker government Václav Riedlbauch left the final decision on Milan Knížák's successor to another minister, to whom he only recommended a trio of finalists. Former minister Jiří Besser (TOP 09) announced a new selection process, from which economist Vladimír Rösel emerged. Hanáková dismissed him from the position this year, after which she appointed Fajt despite warnings from experts.
    Fifty-three-year-old Fajt worked at the National Gallery from 1993 to 2000; since 1995 he led the Collection of Old Art. He left the National Gallery shortly after Knížák's arrival, "to avoid having to struggle with an authoritarian general director." Since then, the renowned art historian has mainly been active in Germany, giving lectures at universities in Berlin and Prague.