Highly-regarded Slovenian finance minister resigns

Ljubljana: Slovenian Finance Minister Dusan Mramor, widely credited with stabilising the small euro zone nation`s finances after being buffeted by the global financial crisis, resigned on Wednesday citing personal reasons.

"I`m returning to be a professor. I`m glad Slovenia has regained economic sovereignty and that 25,000 new jobs have been created," Mramor told a news conference with Prime Minister Miro Cerar.

Under Mramor, 62, finance minister since 2014, Slovenia`s deficit has fallen below the EU ceiling of three percent of output while economic activity has recovered and the banking system has stabilised.

In January, The Banker magazine named Mramor Europe`s best finance minister. That same month Cerar rejected a previous resignation by Mramor over an unlawful earnings scandal, saying he was vital for the economy.