Franc Križanič was born on 4 December 1954 in Ljubljana. He graduated from Law Faculty in Ljubljana in 1978 with a thesis »Import dependency of Yugoslav industry«. Consequently, he was invited to join the Economic Institute of the Law School in Ljubljana.

In 1987 Mr Križanič completed his master's studies at the Economic Faculty in Zagreb with a thesis on »Factors in the structure of Yugoslav foreign trade«. Ten years later he completed his PhD at the same faculty with »An analysis of the Leontief paradox in the Slovenian economy«.

The Economic Faculty in Ljubljana awarded him the status of junior professor in 2000. Since, he has written a number of articles on economic policy.

Between 2001 and November 2008 he headed the Economic Institute of the Law School, a private research institute specializing in macroeconomic policy analysis.

Mr Križanič served the chairman of the Council of the Insurance Supervisory Agency from 2000 to 2005. He was the president of the Supervisory Board of the Slovenian Red Cross in 2007 and 2008. Since 2006 he was also a member of the Prime Minister's Strategic council for economic development.

In September 2008 he was elected Member of Parliament in Ljubljana and appointed Minister of Finance two months later.

Mr Križanič is married and has two children. He speaks English and Russian.