A veterinarian and agro-economist he had a career as a civil servant in the ministry of agriculture before entering politics at the age of 46.
As minister of Agriculture he has had to deal with issues including:
The bird flu epidemic of 2005, in which he made a statement that it was safe to eat cooked chicken and then famously refused to do so on television.[7]
Adjusting food control regulations to comply with EU norms, including recategorising pork and horse meat as suitable for human consumption.[8]