Milan Kučan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Milan Kučan

Milan Kučan (born January 14, 1941) Slovene politician and statesman. He was the first President of Slovenia.

[edit] Early life and political beginnings

Kučan was born in Križevci, Slovenia, a village in Prekmurje, northeastern Slovenia (at that time a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). He grew up in a teachers' family with five children in an area where after WW II Hungary built up barbed wire watchtowers to fortify its iron curtain border.

Kučan was president of the Slovene youth association (1968), secretary of the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Slovenia (1974-1978), speaker of the National Assembly (1978-1982), representative of Slovene communists in the League of Communists of Yugoslavia CC in Belgrade (1982-1986).

He became head of the League of Communists of Slovenia in 1986-1989. At that time liberal and democratic sentiment began growing in Slovenia as opposed to the political atmosphere of Belgrade and Serbia under Slobodan Milošević. Advocating human rights and European democratic values and principles, Kučan, his party and Slovenia were facing increasingly severe political confrontations with Belgrade and Serbia. On 23 January 1990, Kučan and the Slovene delegation left the Party Congress. This led to the collapse of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, one of the pillars of the political system of the Socialist Yugoslavia.

[edit] Political career

Slovenia was the first of the federal units of Yugoslavia to introduce multi-party democracy and the first multi-party elections were held in April 1990. Kučan was elected president of the Presidency, then a collective body.

Kučan strongly opposed a violent preservation of Yugoslavia. After the concept of a loose confederation had failed to gain support by the republics of Yugoslavia, Kučan favoured a controlled process of non-violent disassociation that would enable the collaboration of the former Yugoslav nations on a new, different basis.

Slovenia declared its independence on 26 June 1991. In his speech Kučan said: "Today dreams are allowed, tomorrow is a new day." The celebrations were brutally interrupted by the aggression of the Yugoslav Army. Ten days after the peace talks began at Brioni with the European Community as the mediator and the Army started its withdrawal from Slovenia. Kučan represented Slovenia at the peace conference on the former Yugoslavia in the Hague/Brussels which concluded that the former Yugoslav nations were free to determine their future as independent states. On May 22, 1992 Kučan represented Slovenia becoming the new member of the United Nations.

After independence and the international recognition of Slovenia, Kučan was elected the first President of Slovenia in 1992 with the support of the citizens list. He won another five year term in 1997-2002, running again as an independent and again winning the majority in the first round.

His presidency ended in December 2002. He was succeeded as President by Janez Drnovšek.

In March 2003 Slovenia held two referenda on the accession to EU and NATO. Milan Kučan took an active role in campaigning for memberships, in order for Slovenia to achieve the goals it set upon its independence. In May 2004 Slovenia became full member of both EU and NATO.

Kučan is married to Štefka Kučan.

Since November 2004, Kučan is member of the Club of Madrid, an association of democratic former statesmen. He chairs the International Collegium, together with Michel Rocard, former French prime minister. Since 2004 he is the chairman of Forum 21, a Slovene association reflecting issues of relevance for the future development of Slovenia and its position in the global society.

[edit] External links

Preceded by Andrej Marinc	Chairman of the League of Communists of Slovenia 1986–1990	Succeeded by Position Abolished
Preceded by Janez Stanovnik as President of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia	President of Slovenia 1990–2002	Succeeded by Janez Drnovšek