Minister of Foreign Affairs
Dr Dimitrij Rupel
Dr Dimitrij Rupel was born in Ljubljana on 7 April 1946. He received a degree in world literature and sociology in 1970 at the University of Ljubljana. In the course of his studies he spent one year (1966-67) at the University of Essex in Great Britain and from 1971 to 1972 he studied at Brandeis University (USA), where he received a PhD in sociology in 1976. Throughout this time he was publishing literary works, journalistic and critical articles, and was also active as a translator and editor. Owing to the political difficulties he encountered while serving in the Yugoslav Army, he was not permitted to teach at Ljubljana University and could not further his academic career. From 1977 to 1978 he taught at Queen's University in Canada; in 1985 at the New York New School for Social Research; and in 1989 at Cleveland State University.
In the 1980s he was, together with other writers and intellectuals, an initiator and editor of the "alternative" magazine Nova Revija. In 1987 Nova Revija published the Slovene National Programme, a manifesto for political change that served in 1989 as a basis for the May Declaration that was signed by large numbers of Slovenes. Political provocation escalated into direct confrontation with the communist power structure. At a crucial moment Dr Rupel and many colleagues established and headed the Slovene Democratic Alliance, which united with other anti-communist parties in Demos (the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia). Demos was victorious in the elections and Dr Rupel became the first foreign minister of the independent Slovenia (1990-1993). In this capacity he made a major contribution to gaining international recognition for the new state. In the period from 1993 to 1995 he served as a deputy in the National Assembly. At the end of 1994 in the first direct elections he was elected as Mayor of Ljubljana, capital city of the young state. He held this office until autumn 1997 when he became Slovenian Ambassador to the United States. Rupel was re-appointed foreign minister in the government of Janez Drnovšek at the beginning of 2000, a post he held until the government was toppled in June 2000 to be replaced by government of Andrej Bajuk.With the appointment of the new Government on 30 November 2000, he was again made Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prime minister Anton Rop kept him as foreign minister when he took over the cabinet from Janez Drnovšek in December 2002. In June 2004 Dimitrij Rupel resigned from his position and returned to his seat in parliament.
In 1992, Dr Rupel was elected full professor at the University of Ljubljana. In recent years, he has published several texts in the field of international relations and foreign policy. Within the LDS party (Liberal Democracy of Slovenia) Dr Rupel has served since 1994 as chairman of the party council, as a member of the executive committee and chairman of the Ljubljana committee. Dr Rupel is a member of several Slovenian and international associations, such as PEN, AAASS, the Slovenian Writers' Association, and the Association of Sociologists. He is fluent in English, German, Italian and French.