State Secretary in the Minister for Finance Reinhold Lopatka of Austria
Reinhold Lopatka was born on 27 January 1960 in the Styrian town of Vorau.
In September 1986 Lopatka was elected to the Styrian legislature and sworn in as Styrias youngest legislator.
Reinhold Lopatka has three sons and is a passionate marathon runner.
Referring to reports by German state broadcaster ARD of alleged blood doping activities at a Vienna blood bank, Lopatka said that he did not believe all athletes were lying as a general rule.
The ownership of doping (substances) must become a criminal offence," Lopatka said at a press conference on Monday, following the doping-related incidents that overshadowed the Tour de France cycling race which ended the previous day.
AUSTRIAN State Secretary for Sports Reinhold Lopatka said he could clear a Vienna laboratory suspected by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) of running a blood bank for doping purposes.
Lopatka was convinced of the laboratory's innocence after speaking to investigators, athletes and employees at the company.
But Lopatka said the incident showed the anti-doping system was working better than ever and could succeed in stamping out the scourge.
Austrian sports secretary Reinhold Lopatka said the accident showed the importance of immediate medical care being available at races.