Janez Potočnik (born on 22 March 1958) is a former Slovenian Minister for European Affairs and currently European Union Commissioner for Science and Research.

He served as Assistant Director (1984 – 1987) and Director (1993 – 2001) at the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development in Ljubljana. In 1993 he got his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Ljubljana. Between 1988 and 1993 he was Senior Researcher at the Institute for Economic Research in Ljubljana. He was Minister Councillor at the Slovenian Prime Minister's Cabinet 2001 – 2002 and Minister for European Affairs 2002 – 2004. He headed the negotiating team for the Accession of Slovenia to the EU between 2002 and 2004. That year he became European Commissioner, since November responsible for Science and Research.

External Links

http://europa.eu.int/comm/commission_barroso/potocnik/indexfl_en.htm