Marta Kos (; born 28 June 1965) is a Slovenian diplomat and politician. She served as ambassador to Germany from 2013 to 2017, and as ambassador to Switzerland from 2017 to 2020. Since December 2024, she is the

European Commissioner for Enlargement The Commissioner for Enlargement is the member of the European Commission in charge of overseeing the Enlargement of the European Union, accession process of prospective new member states and European Neighbourhood Policy, relations with those b ...

in the second von der Leyen's Commission. From April to September 2022, she was one of the vice presidents of the Freedom Movement. Ahead of the 2022 presidential election, she was the candidate of the Freedom Movement for

president of Slovenia The president of Slovenia, officially the president of the Republic of Slovenia (), is the head of state of Slovenia. The office was established on 23 December 1991 when the National Assembly (Slovenia), National Assembly passed a new ...

until her withdrawal in August. Following the withdrawal she resigned as Freedom Movement vice president. Following resignation of

Tatjana Bobnar Tatjana Bobnar (born 13 June 1969) is a Slovenian police officer and politician. She has served the minister of interior of the Slovenia until 14 December 2022. Early life and education She was born in Ljubljana on 13 June 1969. She attended ...

as Minister of the Interior she also resigned from the Freedom Movement stating that it is not her party anymore.

Early life and career

In her youth, Kos was a record-holding Yugoslav and Slovenian swimming champion. She studied journalism and joined the sports division of RTV, and later moved to Germany where she worked for

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

and as

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

correspondent for RTV starting in 1993. From 1997 to 1999, she served as director of the Slovenian government information office and as spokesperson of the government. In 2000, she was appointed vice president of the

Chamber of Commerce and Industry A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

. In 2013, the government of

Alenka Bratušek Alenka Bratušek (; born 31 March 1970) is a Slovenian politician, who was the Prime Minister of Slovenia from March 2013 until May 2014 as the first woman in Slovenia to hold this position. She was president ''pro tempore'' of the Positive Slove ...

appointed her Ambassador to Berlin, Germany, as part of a political quota (non-career diplomats). In 2017, she was appointed Ambassador to Bern, Switzerland. In 2020, she resigned as ambassador due to disagreement with the government's foreign policy, as well as accusations of mobbing and consequential internal control over the work of the embassy. In 2022, she announced her candidacy for President of the Republic. In unexplained circumstances, she resigned from her candidacy and resigned as vice-president of the Freedom Movement. After the resignation of

as Minister of the Interior, due to a conflict with Prime Minister

Robert Golob Robert Golob (born 23 January 1967) is a Slovenian businessman and politician, serving as Prime Minister of Slovenia and leader of the Freedom Movement since 2022. Early life and education Golob obtained his PhD in electrical engineering at th ...

, she also resigned from the Freedom Movement party in 2023, explaining that it was no longer her party, thus supporting Tatjana Bobnar. In September 2024, she was proposed as a candidate for a member of European commissioner for Enlargement, responsible for overseeing relations with Eastern neighbors replacing Tomaž Vesel, who resigned from the candidacy for European Commissioner. On 17 September 2024,

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...

announced Kos would be in charge of the European enlargement, pending approval of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

, thus assessing membership applications of Ukraine and

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

and other countries to join the European Union. Kos was accused then by the right-wing

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 ...

over her alleged involvement with the former Yugoslav Communist secret service,

UDBA The State Security Service, also known by its original name as the Directorate for State Security, was the secret police organization of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Communist Yugoslavia. It was at all times best known by the acrony ...

Personal life

Kos is married to Henri Gétaz, who is the secretary general of the

European Free Trade Association The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kos, Marta 1965 births Living people Slovenian women ambassadors Freedom Movement (Slovenia) politicians 21st-century Slovenian women politicians Slovenian female swimmers Slovenian women journalists Ambassadors of Slovenia to Switzerland Ambassadors of Slovenia to Germany Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany European commissioners (2024–2029) Slovenian European commissioners