State Secretary Hrvoje Bujanovic was appointed Acting Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets Branko Bacic said after a government session on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Tuesday dismissed Economy Minister Davor Filipovic, and the government dismissed his special adviser Jurica Lovrincevic during a telephone session, Bacic noted.

“Today, the government appointed State Secretary Hrvoje Bujanovic acting Minister of the Economy, who stay in office until the nomination and appointment of a new minister,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

The plan is to appoint a new economy minister as soon as possible, Bacic added.

“I am confident that the Prime Minister will nominate a candidate for the position and sent the nomination to parliament very soon. We will call an emergency session to get the new minister,” he said.

Asked if this will take place in the parliament next week, he said that he could not exactly determine the date of the extraordinary session, but considering that Christmas and New Year holidays are around the corner, Bacic said that the plan was to finish the procedure as soon as possible and hold a debate at the competent parliamentary committee. After that, MPs will hold a vote of confidence in the new Minister of Economy.

On Tuesday, Plenkovic relieved Davor Filipovic of his duties as Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development on Tuesday. Based on this decision, Jurica Lovrincevic will no longer serve as special adviser to the Minister. Filipovic’s dismissal came after the Nacional weekly ran an article saying that his special adviser Lovrincevic offered to the Zagreb-based local television network Mreza TV to lease advertising space to a number of state companies and institutions, in return asking for half of the agreed amount to be paid to him. The weekly released an audio recording of a conversation between Lovrincevic and a Mreža TV reporter.