By Tatiana Polevina
Presenting Andrei Kobyakov in his new position, the Head of State noted that Mr. Kobyakov has served the country and the nation with honour in his various posts with supervisory agencies, and with the Government and the Presidential Administration, as well as with the diplomatic service. “Belarus is governed by the public; we aim to employ only highly trained professionals who are devoted to their country and have a far-reaching vision for the state. There can be no transitory people here,” underlined Mr. Lukashenko.
The Belarusian President noted that personnel selection is vital to all organisations, including the Government, with employees chosen carefully. This is particularly true for top posts in the Government, including the position of Head of the Presidential Administration.
The Belarusian leader underlines that the Presidential Administration is more than a mere government agency; they are presidential staff, providing a think tank for draft resolutions affecting the path of the nation. According to the Head of State, this responsibility requires the Head of Staff to be chosen even more carefully. “It cannot be just another professional; the person chosen must be well-organised, responsible, honest and patriotic,” Mr. Lukashenko is convinced. He notes that these and other reasons prompted his decision to appoint Andrei Kobyakov to the post.
The range of issues to be solved by the new Head of the Presidential Administration is wide, touching on every aspect of domestic and foreign policy, socio-economic development, staff employment, legislation and public appeals to the Presidential Administration.
Mr. Lukashenko explained current priorities:
State personnel policy
Under today’s severely competitive conditions, modern leaders are essential at all levels — from the director of an enterprise to ministers. One of the key tasks of the Administration is to build a foundation of managers who can lead the country towards global economic success. The Presidential Administration is to study best international experience in creating a system to enhance the prestige of the state service.
Ideology
The Presidential Administration needs to constantly monitor every state agency (including the Government and ministries) to ensure that they don’t contradict national interests and that they do meet the needs of ordinary people. The Administration should support the ideological decisions adopted in other spheres.
