Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Wednesday after a meeting of the parliamentary majority that he would nominate Anja Simpraga as a new deputy prime minister, Davor Filipovic as the new labour minister and Marin Piletic as the new economy minister.

Speaking to the press after presenting the candidates to the coalition partners, Plenkovic said all three had known for 20 days that they would be nominated, but the announcement was postponed until after the Easter holidays and the completion of negotiations with trade unions led by Labour Minister Josip Aladrovic.

They are the new generation, they are very young and I think six cabinet members were born in the 1980s, which speaks to the trend of politically rejuvenating the government, Plenkovic said.

The new ministers are expected to take office on Friday, after being heard by the relevant parliamentary committees and voted in.

Plenkovic once again thanked the outgoing ministers for their contributions.

He said new business challenges awaited Economy Minister Tomislav Coric and that the ruling HDZ would support him for the position of central bank vice governor.

As for Aladrovic and Deputy PM Boris Milosevic, who are under investigation by the State Prosecutor’s Office, Plenkovic said that if they were not proven guilty, the government’s door would be open and that he was confident they might contribute to it in the future.

Anja Simpraga, currently an MP from the ranks of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), took Milosevic’s seat in the Parliament after he was appointed deputy prime minister for social activities and human rights. She has a master’s degree in agronomic engineering. She also held the position of deputy prefect of Sibenik-Knin County and was the vice president of the main committee in the SDSS party.

The new Minister of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, Marin Piletic, is a teacher of Croatian and history. He is currently a Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) MP and also the Mayor of the central Croatian town of Novska.

The new Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Davor Filipovic, has a PhD in business economics and is an associate professor at Zagreb’s Faculty of Economics Organisation and Management Department. He is a member of the Supervisory Board in the INA oil company and the president of the Supervisory Board in the Hrvatske Sume forest management company.

Filipovic is currently serving as a councillor in the Zagreb City Assembly, having come into spotlight during last year’s Zagreb local election, where he was the HDZ’s candidate for Mayor.