Presidential election: First woman at the helm of Slovenia

Natasa Pirc Musar made a name for herself as Melania Trump’s lawyer and pro-democracy fighter. Now the 54-year-old is replacing her predecessor known as the “Instagram President”, although she was behind in the first round of voting.

For the first time in Slovenia there is a woman at the head of state: the independent 54-year-old lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar won the run-off election. As a representative of the left-liberal camp, she left long-favored former Foreign Minister Anze Logar behind.

Her competitor had won the first round

After counting around 90 percent of the votes, she came up with 54 percent. 46 percent voted for Logar, according to the state election commission in Ljubljana.

Logar congratulated Pirc Musar on the win, local TV reported. He is considered the confidant of the right-wing prime minister, Janez Jansa, who was voted out in April and won the first round of the election three weeks ago. At that time, however, in addition to Pirc Musar, candidates from the Social Democrats and the Left were also in the running.

Melania Trump’s attorney

As a lawyer and former freedom of information officer, Pirc Musar had repeatedly criticized the way the former Jansa government dealt with the media – and was committed to democracy and human rights. Her most prominent client was Melania Trump from Slovenia, wife of the then US President. Pirc Musar defended Melania Trump against slander from Slovenian tabloids and against companies that had advertised their products with the name and picture of the then president’s wife without asking.

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 stand as president after two terms. In 2017, Politico magazine named Pahor the “Instagram President of Europe” for his activity on the platform.

The former Yugoslav republic with around two million inhabitants gained independence in 1991.