UPDATE 2-Czech President surprises with central bank choice

(Adds background, analyst quotes)

By Jan Lopatka

PRAGUE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus said on Friday he will name 32-year-old economist Vladimir Tomsik to the central bank (CNB) board, an academic whose views on monetary policy are not well known.

Klaus held talks with CNB Governor Zdenek Tuma earlier on Friday, just a few days before the six-year mandates of two of the CNB's seven policymakers -- Michaela Erbenova and Jan Frait -- are due to end on Nov. 30.

Klaus, who has sole power to pick central bankers without government or parliament having to agree, did not say in the statement whether Tomsik will replace Erbenova or Frait, or if either of the two current members whose terms end will be re-nominated.

A spokesman for Klaus told Reuters the president will announce his second nomination next week.

Analysts said the new members are unlikely to change the conduct of policy at the bank, whose key interest rate at 2.50 percent is 75 basis points below the euro zone equivalent.

However, in his previous choices the euro-sceptic president tapped people who reinforced the CNB's cautious stance towards euro adoption and are regarded as having hawkish tendencies.

"He is still in the academic sphere, but apart from that he has also collected practical experience. I think it is an ideal combination of knowledge and experience," said David Marek, an acquaintance of Tomsik.

Both Erbenova and Frait joined the CNB's board -- which sets interest rates and runs exchange rate policy -- on Dec. 1, 2000, but no obvious candidate to replace either had surfaced prior to Tomsik's nomination.

"I'd say his stance (on the euro) will be pragmatic. I would not say he is a euro-sceptic nor euro-optimist, but I'd say his stance will be balanced and based on expert opinion," added Marek, who is chief economist at Patria Finance.

Tomsik, who has degrees in economic policy and economics at the University of Economics (VSE) and the Charles University, both in Prague, is an associate professor at the VSE.

Between 1997 and 2005, he taught courses focused on economic policy, macroeconomic analysis and forecasting at the VSE, which the monetarist Klaus also attended.

Tomsik has also worked as private sector analyst and since 2005 has been deputy leader of a team researching multilateral trade agreements at the World Trade Institute in Switzerland.

From 2000 to 2005, he led the macroeconomic analysis team at the NEWTON Group, one of the largest financial non-banking groups in the Czech Republic, according to the World Trade Institute's Web site. ((Writing by Alan Crosby; prague.newsroom@reuters.com; Editing by Ruth Pitchford; Reuters Messaging: alan.crosby.reuters.com@reuters.net; +420 224 190 477))

Keywords: ECONOMY CZECH CBANK