Melania Trump’s lawyer to be Slovenia’s first woman president
MELANIA TRUMP’S former lawyer will become the first woman to be president of Slovenia after defeating a party known for its support of Donald Trump.
Natasa Pirc Musar, an independent backed by the centre-left and liberals, defeated her Right-wing rival in the second round run-off on Sunday to become head of state.
After claiming victory with 53.86 per cent of the vote, she said: “I will do my best to be a true president for all, to work for fundamental and constitutional human and democratic rights and democracy.”
Ms Pirc Musar, 54, is a former television news anchor who trained at Salford University’s media department. She is also a human rights expert and was Slovenia’s commissioner for access to public information in 2004. She has a PHD in law from Vienna University, and was hired during Donald Trump’s US presidency to stop companies from seeking to profit by using Slovenian-born Mrs Trump’s name and likeness.
Her victory came at the expense of the candidate for the Right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party, which is led by former prime minister Janez Janša.
Mr Janša became the first world leader to back Mr Trump’s false claim to have won America’s presidential elections in 2020. The nationalist, a close ally of Hungary’s Viktor Orban, has been dubbed “mini-trump” and is infamous for his virulent attacks on rivals and journalists on Twitter.
The populist firebrand was soundly beaten in April’s parliamentary election by Robert Golub, the current prime minister and an environmentalist.
Mr Logar, a former foreign minister, took 46.14 per cent of the vote, which had a turnout of 49.9 per cent. He had won in the first round but did not get the required majority, which forced the run-off.
Polls had shown support moving to Ms Pirc Musar, amid suggestions that Mr Logar, 46, was suffering for failing to distance himself from Mr Janša, despite running as an independent.
Ms Pirc Musar campaigned on human rights, the rule of law and social welfare but faced criticism over a network of companies owned by her and her husband. The role of president is mostly ceremonial in Slovenia.