The state apologized to Jiří Fajt for his dismissal from the head of the National Gallery

Prague - The state, through the Ministry of Culture, has apologized to art historian Jiří Fajt for his dismissal from the position of director of the National Gallery in Prague. The text of the apology was published today by the Ministry of Culture on its website. Fajt was dismissed a year ago by the former Minister of Culture Antonín Staněk. (ČSSD). The Ministry stated today that Staněk cited reasons for Fajt's dismissal that were not supported by the factual state of affairs. "The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic hereby apologizes to Jiří Fajt for its aforementioned decisions made by the then Minister of Culture," the office writes.

Staněk justified his action by alleged economic misconduct of the then director of the National Gallery. Fajt repeatedly rejected the accusations, with dozens of directors of foreign museums and thousands of people in a domestic petition standing up for him.

"The Police of the Czech Republic, after conducting all necessary investigations, shelved both criminal complaints submitted by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic at the discretion of the then Minister of Culture in connection with the dismissal of Mr. Jiří Fajt from the position of General Director of the National Gallery in Prague as unfounded. The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic acknowledges that this caused harm to Mr. Jiří Fajt's professional and personal reputation and honor, as well as to his good name," the Ministry stated today.

Staněk told ČTK today that he does not yet know the justification for why the criminal complaint was shelved. "Therefore, I cannot comment on the matter. The complaint was made based on a broad inspection by ministry officials, a suggestion from Transparency International, and was prepared by the legislative department of the Ministry of Culture. Thus, the Ministry's procedure is surprising to me. I want to familiarize myself with the materials to decide how to proceed," Staněk stated.

The Ministry of Culture confirmed to ČTK on Monday that it had received information from the police about the shelving of two criminal complaints that Staněk had submitted against Fajt. Along with the director of NGP, he also dismissed the director of the Museum of Art in Olomouc, Michal Soukup, last April and filed criminal complaints against him and his predecessor Pavel Zatloukal. He also accused the Olomouc experts of economic misconduct, and Soukup's then-end also caused significant discontent in professional circles. The police shelved the criminal complaints against Soukup and Zatloukal last November.

Before leaving the ministry, Staněk announced competitions for the positions of both dismissed directors, which his successor Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) soon canceled. The NGP has had a second temporary head since last September; Zaorálek established a Guarantee Council for the NGP and announced a new selection procedure in mid-April this year. Jiří Fajt has mainly been active abroad since his departure from the NGP.

"The last year has not exactly been one of the happiest periods of my life. The same will certainly apply to the National Gallery. My dismissal, in fact, suddenly halted the diligent work on the project 'New National Gallery,' which my colleagues and I, with the support of many external partners and supporters, have been trying to revive and bring among successful European art museums after years of stagnation and provincialism," Fajt stated on Monday.