Milan Kučan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kučan in 2000 | |
| 1stPresident of Slovenia | |
| In office 23 December 1991 – 22 December 2002 | |
| Prime Minister |
|
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Janez Drnovšek |
| 13thPresident of the Presidency of Slovenia | |
| In office 10 May 1990 – 23 December 1991 | |
| Prime Minister |
|
| Preceded by | Janez Stanovnik |
| Succeeded by | Himself (asPresident of Slovenia) |
| 7thPresident of the League of Communists of Slovenia | |
| In office 19 April 1986 – 23 December 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Andrej Marinc |
| Succeeded by | Ciril Ribičič |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1941-01-14)14 January 1941 (age 84) Križevci, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia) |
| Political party | Social Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | League of Communists of Yugoslavia (until 1991) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Milan Kučan (pronounced[ˈmíːlaŋˈkúːtʃan];[1][2] born 14 January 1941) is a Slovenian formerpolitician who served as the firstPresident of Slovenia from 1991 to 2002. Before being president of Slovenia, he was the 13thPresident of the Presidency of SR Slovenia from 1990 to 1991.
Kučan also served as the 7thPresident of the League of Communists of Slovenia from 1986 to 1989.
Kučan, one of five children, was born in a teachers' family. His parents were Koloman Küčan (1911–1944) and Marija Varga (1917–1975). He was raised in the village ofKriževci, located in the largely agrarian border region ofPrekmurje in theDrava Banovina of theKingdom of Yugoslavia (present-daySlovenia). His father died duringWorld War II.[3] Kučan's family spent the war inoccupied Serbia, where over 58,000 other Slovenians were resettled from Slovenia by the Nazis.[citation needed]
He later studied law at theUniversity of Ljubljana and soon became involved in theCommunist political organizations of the time. In 1968, he became the president of the Slovenian Youth Association, then secretary of theSocialist Alliance of Working People of Slovenia (a central organization, created to unite allcivil society associations under one roof) between 1974 and 1978. He rose to speaker of the National Assembly ofSlovenia in 1978, and in 1982 he became representative for theSlovenian Communists in theLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia'sCentral Committee inBelgrade.[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 andSerbia underSlobodan Milošević. Advocating in favour ofhuman rights and European democratic values and principles, Kučan, his party and Slovenia faced increasingly severe political confrontations with Belgrade and Serbia.[4] On 23 January 1990, Kučan and the Slovenian delegationleft the Party Congress. This was one of the factors that eventually led to the collapse of theLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia, one of the pillars of the political system of the Socialist Yugoslavia.[citation needed]
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. Kučan was elected president of the presidency, then a collective body, in 1990, in a ballot against theDEMOS candidateJože Pučnik.
Kučan strongly opposed the preservation of Yugoslavia through violent means.[citation needed] After the concept of a looseconfederation had failed to gain support by the republics of Yugoslavia, Kučan 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, Kučan ended with the words: "Today dreams are allowed, tomorrow is a new day." On 26 June, theYugoslav People's Army embarked on troop movements that later escalated into theTen-Day War. As the peace talks began atBrioni, with theEuropean Community as a mediator, the army started its withdrawal from Slovenia. Kučan represented Slovenia at the peace conference on former Yugoslavia inThe Hague andBrussels which concluded that the former Yugoslav nations were free to determine their future as independent states. On 22 May 1992 Kučan represented Slovenia as it became a new member of theUnited Nations.[citation needed]
After the independence and the international recognition of Slovenia, Kučan was elected as the firstPresident 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 byJanez Drnovšek.[citation needed] In March 2003 Slovenia held tworeferendums on joining theEuropean Union andNATO. Milan Kučan 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, Kučan has been a member of theClub of Madrid,[5] an association of former democratic statesmen that works to strengthen democratic governance. He chairs the International Collegium together withMichel Rocard, formerFrench Prime Minister. Since 2004 he is the chairman of Forum 21, a Sloveneleft-wingthink-tank reflecting on issues of relevance for the future development of Slovenia and its position in a global society.[citation needed]
Kučan is also a member of theEuropean 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]
Kučan marriedŠtefka Kučan in 1964.[6] The couple have two daughters: Ana, alandscape architect and professor at theUniversity of Ljubljana, and Špela, ananthropologist andethnologist.[6] In 1991, Kučan stated it is the duty of every Slovene to climb MountTriglav.[citation needed]
: Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic (1992)[7]
: Grand Cross of theOrder of Pope Pius IX (1993)[8]
: Collar of theOrder pro Merito Melitensi (1995)[8]
: Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (1997)[8]
: Collar of theOrder of the Cross of Terra Mariana (1997)
:Order of the Redeemer (1999)[8]
: Grand Collar of theOrder of Infante Dom Henrique (2000)
: Knight Grand Cross of theGrand Order of King Tomislav ("For outstanding contribution to the development of interstate relations and friendship between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Slovenia.", 5 December 2001)
: Grand Cross (or 1st Class) of theOrder of the White Double Cross (2001)[9]
: Grand Cross of theOrder of St Michael and St George (2001)[8]
: Collar of theOrder of Isabella the Catholic (2002)[8]
:Order of the Star of Romania (2002)[8]
: Commander Grand Cross with Chain of theOrder of Three Stars (2002)
: Knight of theOrder of the White Eagle (2002)[10]
: Knight of theOrder of the Elephant (2001)[11]
: Gold Medal of theOrder of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia (2003)[12]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chairman of the League of Communists of Slovenia 1986–1990 | Succeeded by Position Abolished |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Janez Stanovnik asPresident of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia | President of Slovenia 1990–2002 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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