Prince Albert Appoints First Minister of State

HSH Prince Albert II has appointed Michel Roger to be his new Minister of State after the retirement of Jean-Paul Proust. M. Roger said he felt very honored by the appointment and justly so as this is the first such appointment the Prince has made after new agreements came into effect between Monaco and the French republic. In the past it had always effectively been the government in Paris which has chosen the Minister of State but M. Roger is the first to be chosen and appointed exclusively by the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Roger said he has deep gratitude and regard for his monarch and also wishes to serve in the best interests of the Monegasque people, all the inhabitants of the country and the Principality of Monaco.

The new minister affirmed his support for the goals of the Sovereign Prince and stressed that his efforts would be toward the preservation of the status Monaco has already gained in the areas of economic prosperity, human development and justice and hopefully to go further in all of these areas so that Monaco will become an example of excellence in all areas. He says his role is to be a conductor and not a soloist, a manager and not a technocrat. Roger said he is not planning any immediate changes in the administrative team organized by Proust and pointed out that after sitting on the Supreme Court he has had a good relationship with Prince Albert II and has also met a number of times and is on good ground with French President Sarkozy.

The appointment of Michel Roger represents the start of a new period of greater independence of action between France and Monaco and many people will surely be watching M. Roger closely, not only in terms of how he performs, but to judge the wisdom of the Sovereign Prince in choosing him for this important position.