Nataša Pirc Musar | |
|---|---|
_(53813898620)_(cropped).jpg) Pirc Musar in 2024 | |
| President of Slovenia | |
| Assumed office December 23, 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Robert Golob |
| Preceded by | Borut Pahor |
| 1stInformation Commissioner | |
| In office July 17, 2004 – July 16, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Mojca Prelesnik |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nataša Pirc (1968-05-09)May 9, 1968 (age 57) |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Aleš Musar |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Ljubljana University of Vienna |
Nataša Pirc Musar (born May 9, 1968) is a Slovenian attorney, author, and politician serving asPresident of Slovenia since 2022. She is a formerInformation Commissioner (2004–2014), a former journalist, and former president of theSlovenian Red Cross (2015–2016).
Pirc Musar is best known for her rulings and books onfreedom of information, legal opinions, and high-profile legal cases, in which she represented Slovenian-bornMelania Trump,First Lady of the United States as wife ofPresidentDonald Trump, theSocial Democrats political party of Slovenia, and other notable clients.
In the second round of the2022 presidential election, she was elected the first female president of Slovenia, defeatingAnže Logar of theSlovenian Democratic Party.[1]
Pirc Musar studied law at theUniversity of Ljubljana's Faculty of Law in 1992, whereMarko Ilešič, later a judge at theEuropean Court of Justice, was her supervisor.[2] In 1997, she passed the bar exam, and later started working at theRadio-Television Slovenia, where she worked for six years as a journalist and host of the central news program.[2] Later, for five years, she was the presenter of the central news program24UR on the commercial television channelPOP TV.[2] In 2001, she became the head of the corporate communication department at Aktiva Group, where her husbandAleš Musar worked.[3]
Pirc Musar completed additional training atCNN inAtlanta, Georgia.[4] She then continued her studies for two semesters at theUniversity of Salford in England, during which she did internships at theBBC,Granada TV,Sky News,Reuters TV, andBorder TV.[4] In 2015 she obtained a PhD at theUniversity of Vienna's Faculty of Law with a dissertation on a fair balance betweenprivacy rights and thefreedom of information.[5][6]
In April 2003, Pirc Musar joined theSupreme Court of Slovenia as director of the Center for Education and Information.[6] Pirc Musar is best remembered for being the Commissioner for Access to Public Information between 2004 and 2014.[7][4] From March 2011, she was the vice-president of the Joint Supervisory Body forEuropol, and from 2012 until the end of her term as information commissioner, she was the president of this body of theEuropean Union.[8]
After the end of her term as information commissioner, she founded her own law firm.[9] Rosana Lemut Strle, became a partner in the law firm in 2016, and the Law Firm is now called Pirc Musar & Lemut Strle.[9] Among others she representedMelania Trump, during her husband's US presidency.[10][11] In highly publicized cases she represented politicians of theSocial Democrats,[12][13] the ambassador to the United States Stanislav Vidovič,[14] among others.
Between 2010 and 2021, Pirc Musar was voted among the top ten most influential lawyers in the country numerous times.[15][16][17][18] She co-founded the OnaVe association to connect female experts and promote knowledge.[19][20] From 2015 to 2016, she was the president of the Slovenian Red Cross.[21]
Pirc Musar has authored or co-authored at least six books on freedom of information and privacy in Slovenian, English, and Croatian.[22][23][24][25][26][27]
On June 23, 2022, Pirc Musar announced her candidacy forPresident of Slovenia in the2022 Slovenian presidential election, scheduled for October 23, 2022, as an independent candidate.[28][29] She was the first to announce her candidacy for president, and she was endorsed by former presidents of SloveniaMilan Kučan andDanilo Türk.[30] Pirc Musar has not been a member of a political party, and she does not plan to become one.[citation needed] While she defended her candidacy as an independent, parties such as thePirate Party[31] andYouth Party – European Greens also supported her.[citation needed]
Her candidacy sparked media speculation about her relationship withMarta Kos, vice president of the ruling partyFreedom Movement, who announced her own candidacy for president a little later.[32][33] Pirc Musar and Kos claimed to be friends, but according to media reports they stopped communicating with each other.[20] In September 2022, Kos withdrew her candidacy, which led to a surge in support for Pirc Musar, who was already leading.[34] In October, she came second in the first round of the presidential elections, therefore becoming one of the two contenders in the run-off of the presidential elections in November 2022.[35] In the second round of November 13, Pirc Musar defeatedSlovenian Democratic Party candidateAnže Logar and was elected Slovenia's first female president.[36]
In September 2025, Musar criticizedworld powers and permanent members of theSecurity Council (Russia, China, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom) for only pursuing their narrow national interests and offering "terror, conflict, pollution, fear, inequalities and war" instead of defending peace. She also called for an end to thegenocide in Gaza, saying, "We did not stop the Holocaust, we did not stop the genocide in Rwanda, we did not stop the genocide in Srebrenica. We must stop the genocide in Gaza. There are no excuses any more, none!"[37]
Pirc Musar is married to Aleš Musar, a businessman. They have a son. Her husband is the owner of a property known as the "Russian dacha" inZgornje Gameljne.[38] The couple owns aRolls-Royce Phantom VI limousine, made in 1971 for and once owned byPrincess Alexandra, first cousin ofQueen Elizabeth II.[39][40]
Greece: Grand Cross of theOrder of the Redeemer (April 8, 2024)[41]
Italy: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic (February 7, 2025)[42]
Portugal: Grand Collar of theOrder of Prince Henry (March 18, 2025)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of Slovenia 2022–present | Incumbent |
| Presidents of the People's Assembly ofSR Slovenia (1945–74) | .svg)
|
|---|---|
| Presidents of the Presidency ofSR Slovenia (1974–90) | |
| Presidents ofSlovenia (1990–present) | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
