Majda Širca Ravnikar (born 20 April 1953) is a

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

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 ...

. She served as

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

in the government of

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 ...

. She was born in

Postojna Postojna (; , ) is a town in the traditional region of Inner Carniola, from Trieste, in southwestern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Postojna.

, then part of the People's Republic of Slovenia of the

Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. She spent her youth in the

Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

region in western Slovenia. She attended elementary school in Štanjel and Dutovlje, and high school in Postojna. She has a degree in art history from the Faculty of Arts of 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 ...

. She worked as a journalist at Slovenian State Television in

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

programming, especially dealing with

art film An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

. During this time, she produced more than 60 short documentary films. In 1997, she was appointed State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture under Jožef Školč. In the 2000 parliamentary elections, she was elected to the

Slovenian National Assembly The National Assembly (, or ; short form ''državni zbor'') is the general representative body of Slovenia. According to the Constitution of Slovenia and the Constitutional Court of Slovenia, it is the major part of the distinctively incomple ...

on the list of 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 ...

. She was re-elected in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. During the centre-right government of

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 ...

between 2004 and 2008, she emerged as the main opposition speaker in culture and

media policy Media policy or media politics refers to decisions regarding legislation and political actions that organize, support, or regulate the media, particularly mass media and the media industry. These actions are typically driven by pressures from pub ...

, strongly criticizing conservative Minister of Culture

Vasko Simoniti Vasko Simoniti (born 23 March 1951) is a Slovenian historian and politician. Between 2004 and 2008, he served as the Minister of Culture of Slovenia, being reappointed in 2020. He is an active member of the Slovenian Democratic Party. Early ...

. The two developed a personal animosity, which was well known to the public. In 2007, she left the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia party and became one of the founding member of the

social liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

party '' Zares''. After the victory of the leftist parties in the parliamentary election of 2008, she was appointed Minister of Culture in the government of

. Majda Širca was married to the late Slovenian architect Vojteh Ravnikar.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirca, Majda 1953 births Living people Liberal Democracy of Slovenia politicians Slovenian journalists Slovenian women journalists Slovenian art historians Slovenian women historians University of Ljubljana alumni People from Postojna Zares politicians Culture ministers of Slovenia Women government ministers of Slovenia Women art historians 20th-century Slovenian women politicians 20th-century Slovenian politicians 21st-century Slovenian women politicians 21st-century Slovenian politicians