The 1997 elections were held on 23 November. The voting turnout was 68,29%.
The candidates
- Marjan Poljšak, born 1945, engineer of chemical technology
- Janez Podobnik, born 1959, MD, President of the National Assembly
- Dr Bogomir Kovač, born 1952, Professor at the Faculty of Economics, University of
Ljubljana
- Milan Kučan, born 1941, President of the Republic of Slovenia
- Tone Peršak, born 1947, senior lecturer in theatre studies
- Franc Miklavčič, born 1921, retired
- Marjan Cerar, born 1943, general manager
- Dr Jože Bernik, born 1924, retired
Voting results
| Position | Candidate | % share of vote |
| 1. | Milan Kučan | 55.57 |
| 2. | Janez Podobnik | 18.42 |
| 3. | Dr Jožef Bernik | 9.39 |
| 4. | Marjan Cerar | 7.07 |
| 5. | Marjan Poljšak | 3.22 |
| 6. | Anton Peršak | 3.08 |
| 7. | Dr Bogomir Kovač | 2.70 |
| 8. | Franc Miklavčič | 0.55 |
|
