FORMER postman Graham Cregeen has been appointed as a minister as Chief Minister Allan Bell completed a mini reshuffle.
He takes the Community, Culture and Leisure portfolio while Tim Crookall, another former postman, moves from that role to Education and Children.
When he announced that Mr Cregeen, the MHK for Malew and Santon, had got the job, Mr Bell said: ‘Graham has been with us for six years. He has served in different departments of government but has had a fair bit of experience in the former Department of Tourism and Leisure, which in the main covered the same responsibilities that are now encompassed in the DCCL.
‘He comes to the department full of enthusiasm, full of energy and some degree of experience in the management of various responsibilities that go with this new department.’
In fact, Mr Cregeen was sacked from the DTL in December 2009 for disloyalty after publicly criticising the way it was managed on several occasions.
It appeared the final straw was when he confronted then minister Martyn Quayle regarding the proposed employment of a retired police inspector without advertising the position. Mr Quayle said that Mr Cregeen had got his facts wrong and was angry that he’d publicly criticised the department in the past.
Mr Cregeen faced the press on Thursday.
He said: ‘This morning I was marshalling at the Southern 100. I was otherwise engaged. It was a surprise.’
He added: ‘There’s enthusiasm and a bit of apprehension because you don’t know what’s going to be out there.
‘It would be nice to know what’s coming round the corner but you never do. It’s going to be a challenge but I’m sure I will rise to it.
A chair at the Council of Ministers’ table was left vacant after Liberal Vannin leader Peter Karran was sacked from his position as Education Minister on June 20.
Mr Bell ruled out replacing him with anyone who’d entered the Keys last year or an MLC. So he didn’t have a wide choice of candidates.
On Thursday, he described the DEC as having had ‘more than its fair share of challenges over the last few months’.
He said: ‘It’s important we have an experienced minister to step into the role to take over the helm and lead education into calm waters.’
Mr Crookall has never been a member of the DEC, but said he didn’t think it was a disadvantage to him, saying: ‘It’s a fresh pair of eyes going in there.’
He said: ‘I’m delighted. I’ve got four children of my own, two at school, one starting college in September. It’s a challenge, it’s something completely new to me politically and I’m looking forward to it.’
Mr Bell said he left the announcement for more than three weeks to ‘get Tynwald business out of the way’ first.
He will announce this week who will take up department roles made vacant by the changes.
Mr Cregeen is the chairman of the Water and Sewerage Authority, the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and a political member of the department he now heads.
Mr Bell will have to fill those roles with other members of Tynwald.