Dimitrij Rupel (born 7 April 1946) is a Slovenian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Early life and education

Rupel was born in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, in what was then the PR Slovenia, into a

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

family of former

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

political emigrants from the

Julian March The Julian March ( Croatian and ), also called Julian Venetia (; ; ; ), is an area of southern Central Europe which is currently divided among Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia.

(his grandfather was the last Slovene mayor of

Duino Duino (, ) is today a seaside resort on the northern Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. It is a ''hamlet (place), hamlet'' of Duino-Aurisina, a municipality (''comune'') of the Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of northeastern Italy. The settlement, pict ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

). After receiving a bachelor's degree in

comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

from the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana (, , ), abbreviated UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 38,000 enrolled students. The university has 23 faculties and three art academies with approximately 4,000 teaching and re ...

in 1970, he continued his studies at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

, and

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

where he obtained a PhD in sociology in 1976. During this time, he published literary works, journalistic and critical articles, and worked as a translator and editor. From 1977 to 1978, he taught at Queen's University in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, then in 1985 at the

New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and at

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in oper ...

in 1989.

Career

Career in national politics

Together with other Slovene intellectuals in the 1980s, initiated and edited the alternative and dissident journal '' Nova Revija'', which later became the platform for democratic reform in the

Socialist Republic of Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia (, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Socialist Slovenia or simply Slovenia, was one ...

. In 1987, he was among the authors of the

Contributions to the Slovenian National Program Contribution may refer to: Music * ''Contribution'' (album), by Mica Paris (1990) ** "Contribution" (song), title song from the album *''Contribution'', a 1976 album by Shawn Phillips * A contribution concert is where a band plays in the son ...

, an intellectual manifesto that demanded a democratic, pluralistic and sovereign Slovenian state. The publication of the manifesto by the journal ''Nova revija'', edited by Rupel, caused a huge scandal in Yugoslavia, and Rupel was forced to step down as editor. In 1989, he was one of the founders of the Slovenian Democratic Union (''Slovenska demokratična zveza'', SDZ), one of the first parties that opposed

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

rule. After the victory of the anti-Communist

DEMOS coalition Democratic Opposition of Slovenia, also known as DEMOS (in Slovenian: ''Demokratična opozicija Slovenije''), was a coalition of centre-right political parties created by an agreement between the Slovenian Democratic Union, the Social Democrat ...

in the first free elections in Slovenia in 1990, Rupel was appointed as State Secretary for International Cooperation in the cabinet of Lojze Peterle, thus becoming ''de facto'' the first

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

of the Republic of Slovenia, which was then seeking independence from Yugoslavia. During his term in office, Slovenia declared its independence and gained international recognition. Rupel also remained in office during the first centre-left coalition government led by Janez Drnovšek. In 1991, the Slovenian Democratic Union suffered an internal split: Rupel led its left-wing fraction, formed among others by Jelko Kacin, Igor Bavčar, and

France Bučar France Bučar (2 February 1923 – 21 October 2015) was a Slovenian politician, legal expert and author. Between 1990 and 1992, he served as the first speaker of the freely elected Slovenian Parliament. He was the one to formally declare the in ...

, into the formation of a new party, called the Democratic Party. The same year, he was elected its president. In the elections of 1992, the new party suffered a defeat, but Rupel managed to be elected a representative in the

National Assembly of Slovenia The National Assembly (, or ; short form ''državni zbor'') is the Representative democracy, general representative body of Slovenia. According to the Constitution of Slovenia and the Constitutional Court of Slovenia, it is the major part of t ...

. In 1994, most of Rupel's party merged into the

Liberal Democracy of Slovenia Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (, LDS) is a social-liberal political party in Slovenia. Between 1992 and 2004, it (and its main predecessor, the Liberal Democratic Party) was the largest (and ruling) party in the country. In the 2011 Slovenian pa ...

party, led by Janez Drnovšek. In 1994, he ran for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

and took office in 1995. He remained in this position until 1997, when he was appointed

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Rupel returned to the post of the foreign minister of Slovenia in 2000 in the third cabinet of Janez Drnovšek. He remained in this position until July 2004, when Prime Minister Anton Rop replaced him with Ivo Vajgl. He returned to his seat in parliament, left the

party, and joined the opposition

Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party (, SDS), formerly the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia (, SDSS), is a conservative parliamentary party; it is also one of the largest parties in Slovenia, with approximately 30,000 reported members in 2013. It ...

. In October 2004, this party won the election and Rupel became foreign minister in

Janez Janša Ivan Janša (; born 17 September 1958), better known as Janez Janša (), is a Slovenian politician who served three times as a prime minister of Slovenia, a position he had held from 2004 to 2008, from 2012 to 2013, and from 2020 to 2022. Since ...

's centre-right government when it was approved by parliament on 3 December 2004. After years of negotiations, disagreements and delays he signed the

Agreement on Succession Issues of the Former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Agreement on Succession Issues of the Former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is an international agreement on shared state succession of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia reached among its former constituents republics foll ...

on behalf of Slovenia. During 2005 he was the chairman-in-office of the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

. In 2008, after the victory of the centre-left coalition led by

Borut Pahor Borut Pahor (; born 2 November 1963) is a Slovenian politician who served as President of Slovenia from 2012 to 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from 2008 to 2012. A longtime member and former president of the Social D ...

, Rupel was replaced as foreign minister by Samuel Žbogar. However, he was nominated by newly elected Prime Minister Borut Pahor as his personal Special Envoy for Foreign Affairs.

Later career

Rupel is a member of

PEN PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

, AAASS, the Slovenian Writer's Association, and the Association of Sociologists. In addition to Slovene, he speaks English, Croatian,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and French to varying degrees. In 2017 Rupel was an international observer in the

2017 Catalan independence referendum An independence referendum was held on 1 October 2017 in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, passed by the Parliament of Catalonia as the Law on the Referendum on Self-determination of Catalonia and called by the Generalitat de Catalun ...

. In 2020, Rupel was one of the candidates for the post as Representative on Freedom of the Media of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE).

Personal life

Rupel is the uncle of the Slovene pop-singer Anja Rupel. He was married to Marjetica Ana Rudolf Rupel until her death in 2022. She was previously married to Slovenian singer Lado Leskovar. Her father was Janko Rudolf, Slovenian partisan, People's Hero and politician.SiOL.net - Umrla je žena slovenskega politika Dimitrija Rupla
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References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070702073810/http://www.ukom.gov.si/eng/government/ministers/foreign-affairs/

External links

December 6, 2007 Economist piece on Slovenia's EU presidency and Rupel's role in Balkan politics
* http://www.sta.si/en/vest.php?s=a&id=1341578 , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rupel, Dimitrij 1946 births Living people Slovenian Democratic Union politicians Liberal Democracy of Slovenia politicians Slovenian Democratic Party politicians Slovenian expatriates in England University of Ljubljana alumni Brandeis University alumni Alumni of the University of Essex Cleveland State University faculty The New School faculty Diplomats from Ljubljana Mayors of Ljubljana Ministers of foreign affairs of Slovenia Democratic Party of Slovenia politicians Ambassadors of Slovenia to the United States