First President of Slovenia (1991?2002)
Milan Ku?an
(
pronounced
[?miːlaŋ
?kuːt?an]
;
[1]
[2]
born 14 January 1941) is a Slovenian former
politician
who served as the first
President of Slovenia
from 1991 to 2002. Before being president of Slovenia, he was the 13th
President of the Presidency of SR Slovenia
from 1990 to 1991.
Ku?an also served as the 7th
President of the League of Communists of Slovenia
from 1986 to 1989.
Early life and political beginnings
[
edit
]
Ku?an, one of five children, was born in a teachers' family. His parents were Koloman Ku?an (1911?1944) and Marija Varga (1917?1975). He was raised in the village of
Kri?evci
, located in the largely agrarian border region of
Prekmurje
in the
Drava Banovina
of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
(present-day
Slovenia
). His father Koloman died during
World War II
.
[3]
Ku?an's family spent
World War II
in
occupied Serbia
, where over 58,000 other Slovenians were resettled from Slovenia by the Nazis.
[
citation needed
]
He later studied law at the
University of Ljubljana
and soon became involved in the
Communist
political organizations of the time. In 1968, he became the president of the Slovenian Youth Association, then secretary of the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Slovenia (a central organization, created to unite all
civil society
associations under one roof) between 1974 and 1978. He rose to speaker of the National Assembly in 1978, and in 1982 he became representative for the
Slovenian Communists
in the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
's Central Committee in
Belgrade
.
[
citation needed
]
In May 1986, he became the leader of the
League of Communists of Slovenia
. At that time, liberal and democratic sentiment started to grow in Slovenia, as opposed to the political atmosphere of Belgrade and
Serbia
under
Slobodan Milo?evi?
. Advocating in favour of
human rights
and European democratic values and principles, Ku?an, his party and Slovenia faced increasingly severe political confrontations with Belgrade and Serbia.
[4]
On 23 January 1990, Ku?an and the Slovenian delegation
left the Party Congress
. This was one of the factors that eventually led to the collapse of the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
, one of the pillars of the political system of the Socialist Yugoslavia.
[
citation needed
]
Political career
[
edit
]
Slovenia was the first of the federal units of Yugoslavia to introduce multi-party democracy and the first multi-party elections were held in April 1990. Ku?an was elected President of the Presidency, then a collective body, in 1990, in a ballot against the
DEMOS
candidate
Jo?e Pu?nik
.
Ku?an strongly opposed the preservation of Yugoslavia through violent means.
[
citation needed
]
After the concept of a loose
confederation
had failed to gain support by the republics of Yugoslavia, Ku?an favoured a controlled process of non-violent disassociation that would enable the collaboration of the former Yugoslav nations on a new, different basis.
[
citation needed
]
Slovenia declared its independence on 25 June 1991. In his speech on the occasion, Ku?an ended with the words: "Today dreams are allowed, tomorrow is a new day." On 26 June, the Yugoslav army embarked on troop movements that later escalated into the
Ten-Day War
. As the peace talks began at
Brioni
, with the
European Community
as a mediator, the Army started its withdrawal from Slovenia. Ku?an represented Slovenia at the peace conference on former Yugoslavia in
the Hague
and
Brussels
which concluded that the former Yugoslav nations were free to determine their future as independent states. On 22 May 1992 Ku?an represented Slovenia as it became a new member of the
United Nations
.
[
citation needed
]
After the independence and the international recognition of Slovenia, Ku?an was elected as the first
President of Slovenia
in 1992 with the support of the citizens list. He won another five-year term in 1997?2002, running again as an independent and again winning the majority in the first round.
[
citation needed
]
His presidency ended in December 2002. He was succeeded as President by
Janez Drnov?ek
.
[
citation needed
]
In March 2003 Slovenia held two referendums on joining the EU and NATO. Milan Ku?an took an active part in campaigning for these memberships, in order for Slovenia to achieve the goals it had set upon its independence. In May 2004, Slovenia became a full member of both the EU and NATO.
[
citation needed
]
Since November 2004, Ku?an has been a member of the
Club of Madrid
,
[5]
an association of former democratic statesmen that works to strengthen democratic governance. He chairs the International Collegium together with
Michel Rocard
, former
French Prime Minister
. Since 2004 he is the chairman of Forum 21, a Slovene
left-wing
think-tank
reflecting on issues of relevance for the future development of Slovenia and its position in a global society.
[
citation needed
]
Ku?an is also a Member of the
European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
, a not-for-profit organization established in 2008 to monitor
tolerance
in
Europe
and make recommendations on fighting
xenophobia
and intolerance on the continent.
[
citation needed
]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Ku?an married
?tefka Ku?an
in 1964.
[6]
The couple have two daughters: Ana, a
landscape architect
and professor at the
University of Ljubljana
, and ?pela, an
anthropologist
and
ethnologist
.
[6]
In 1991, Ku?an stated it is the duty of every Slovene to climb Mount
Triglav
.
[
citation needed
]
Honours and awards
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
Links to related articles
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Presidents of the People's Assembly of
SR Slovenia
(1945?74)
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Presidents of the Presidency of
SR Slovenia
(1974?90)
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Presidents of
Slovenia
(1990?present)
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| | | | | | | | | Provincial committees with representation in the LCY's leading bodies
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Wars and conflicts
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Background
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Anti-war protests
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Ex-Yugoslav formed countries
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Unrecognized entities
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United Nations protectorate
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Armies
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Military formations and volunteers
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External factors
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Politicians
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Top military commanders
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Other notable commanders
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Key foreign figures
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| Prelude
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1991
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1992
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1993–94
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1995
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| Internment camps
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Other
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Overview
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Background
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Events and actors
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Independence referendums in Yugoslavia
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Republics and provinces
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Autonomy
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| Consequences
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Nationalism
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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