The lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar has been elected this Sunday president of the country with 53.97 percent of the votes in the second round of the elections, according to official data of the Slovenian Electoral Commission, quoted by the public television RTV Slo.
His rival, Anze Logar, a former ally of former right-wing Prime Minister Janez Jansa and former foreign minister, finally won 46.03 percent support. There are still votes to be counted, but there is no longer a mathematical option to change the result.
Logar has already «sincerely» congratulated Pirc Musar and expressed his confidence that she will be the president of all Slovenians. He thanked for the votes received and called for unity and cooperation.
Pirc Musar will succeed President Borut Pahor for the next five years and thus become the country’s first female head of state. She is scheduled to be sworn in on December 22. Pirc Musar has also served as head of Slovenia’s Information watchdog and has campaigned for LGBTQ rights.
In her legal practice, Pirc Musar, 54, has worked for former U.S. first lady Melania Trump, who was born in Slovenia and has citizenship there, when she sued a tabloid in a defamation case that settled for an undisclosed amount. Pirc Musa was also part of the team hired to protect Melania Trump’s legal and trademark interests.
Pirc Musar’s victory extends the unbroken string of presidential victories by leftist candidates dating back to the formation of the Balkan state in 1991. It is also a boost for Prime Minister Robert Golob, who took power after this year’s general election on a promise to reverse the sweeping changes pushed by Janez Jansa, who gave his allies greater influence in the courts and state media.
While the president is commander-in-chief of the army and nominates constitutional judges, central bank governors and senior diplomats, the role is largely ceremonial. Most decisions are ultimately made by the prime minister and his cabinet and approved by parliament.
