His predecessor Mihkel Parnoja, resigned following criticism of Estonia's prolonged railway privatization process and poor regulation of fuel quality.
Hololei, a member of the Moderate Party, at 31 is the youngest minister in the government. He graduated from Tallinn Technical University in 1993 with a degree in production supervision and business administration and also took additional courses in politics and economics at Aarhus University in Denmark.
From 1993 to 1995 he worked as economics consultant to the Tallinn branch of Finland's Foreign Trade Council before becoming an adviser to former Economy Minister Endel Lippmaa. In August 1997 he moved to the European integration bureau of the State Chancellery.
Hololei speaks English, Finnish and Russian. His long-time partner Marit Paalberg heads the capital markets division of Nordea bank and the couple has one daughter born in 1999.
On Sept. 27 Sjui Venlin, China's new defense attachè, was introduced by Chinese Ambassador Guan Hengguang to senior members of Lithuania's military. Sjui Venlin was born in 1949. He will be the first Chinese defense attachè to reside in Vilnius, rather than Warsaw, the base of his three predecessors.
On Sept. 27, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus received the credentials of the new Algerian ambassador to Lithuania, Tedjini Salaoundji. Salaoundji, 56, has worked in Algeria's embassies in Japan, France and Senegal. He will reside in Vilnius.
The new Italian defense attachè, Colonel Pipo Filipponi, was accredited at the Lithuanian Defense Ministry on Sept. 26.
Filipponi replaced Brigade General Pasquale Martinello, who had represented Italy's interests in Lithuania since Oct. 6 1999.
Like his predecessor, Filipponi will reside in Warsaw. Lithuania this year intends to accredit its first defense attaché to Italy, Lieutenant Colonel Marius Jatautas, who will reside in Paris, the Defense Ministry's release said.
Lithuania established official defense relations with Italy in September 1992, with accreditation of the first Italian defense attaché, Colonel Buglioni, who resided in Stockholm.
The main element in Lithuanian-Italian military cooperation is the BALTICO drills in Lithuania, which took place for a third time this year. The exercises prepare Lithuania's armed forces for receiving large numbers of Western troops at its sea and air ports and at military installations, the Defense Ministry said.
Italy has also offered Lithuanian officers places on long-term study courses at its military education institutions. In order to prepare officers for the courses Italian language courses are taking place in Kaunas and Klaipeda with the assistance of Italy's Defense Ministry and the Italian Culture Institute in Vilnius
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