For the first time, a woman has been elected president of Slovenia, after lawyer Nataša Pirc Musar, who ran as an independent but is in fact sympathetic to the left, won the election. She previously represented Donald Trump’s wife Melania Trump.
With nearly all of the votes counted, Nataša Pirc Musar won the presidential election in Slovenia by 54 percent. The other presidential candidate, Slovenia’s conservative former right-wing Foreign Minister Anže Logar got 46 percent of the votes, according to media reports.
Pirc Musar’s victory further strengthened the left-liberal forces in Slovenia, as the center-left coalition won the April parliamentary elections, making green liberal Robert Golob (Freedom Movement) the new prime minister.
According to the Associated Press, Pirc Musar said after her election victory that “My first task will be to open a dialogue among all Slovenians.” The new head of state is expected to be sworn in on 23 December.
Hungarian President Katalin Novák congratulated Pirc Musar on her victory on Twitter. She wrote in her post, “As the first female President of my country Hungary, I’m looking forward to working with you on deepening the friendly relations between our countries.”
Congratulations @nmusar on your election as the first female President of #Slovenia . As the first female President of my country , I’m looking forward to working with you on deepening the friendly relations between our countries.
— Katalin Novák (@KatalinNovakMP) November 13, 2022
The new Slovenian president, 54, graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana and started her career as a journalist. She has worked for Slovenian public television (RTV), Slovenia’s largest commercial channel (POP TV), CNN and the BBC. After studying media studies at the University of Manchester, she worked for a while in the economic field, heading the communications department of Aktiva Group, Slovenia’s largest financial company at the time.
#Volitve ️ Hvala! pic.twitter.com/rWendWlQsO
— Nataša Pirc Musar (@nmusar) November 13, 2022
Nataša Pirc Musar joined the Supreme Court in 2003 and was appointed Information Commissioner by the Slovenian Parliament in 2004. She opened her law office in 2014 and has since then worked as a lawyer specializing in media law and human rights. During the election campaign, her agenda included health and pension reform, security and defense policy and the fight against climate change.
Featured photo via Twitter