First woman: non-partisan Natasa Pirc-Musar becomes president of Slovenia Switzerland only partially satisfied with climate conference progress

The 54-year-old sat down on Sunday with 54 percent of the vote against former Foreign Minister Anze Logar. The candidate from the opposition right came in at 46 percent, the election commission in Ljubljana announced after counting almost all votes.

With Pirc-Musar, a woman will hold the highest office in Slovenia for the first time. “People have been talking about what kind of Slovenia they want,” she said in a response to local television. “I will stand up for basic human rights and democracy.” Pirc-Musar was also her country’s first freedom of information ombudsman from 2004 to 2014. For the second round for the highest state office, she was supported by the ruling left-liberal camp.

Logar congratulated Pirc-Musar on his victory in front of the cameras. He is considered the confidant of right-wing Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who was voted out in April but did not adopt Jansa’s confrontational style in the presidential election campaign. Three weeks ago, he had won the first round of the election. At that time, however, in addition to Pirc-Musar, candidates from the Social Democrats and the left were also in the running.

The head of state is elected for five years and plays a more formal role. The outgoing head of state, Borut Pahor, was unable to run for president after two terms. The former Yugoslav republic gained independence in 1991. (sda/dpa)