Borut Pahor

Borut Pahor was born on November 2, 1963 in Postojna. He has a degree in political science, with a focus on international relations. In 1987, he won the Prešeren and Zore Awards from the then Faculty of Sociology, Political Science and Journalism, University of Ljubljana for his graduate thesis. 

He started his professional career in 1990 as a delegate in the then Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia. In 1992, he was elected as a deputy to the National Assembly, re-elected in 1996, and in 2000 was elected President of the assembly. From 1993 to 2011, he concurrently lead the United List of Social Democrats (renamed the Social Democrats in 2005).

In June 2004, before the end of his term in the National Assembly, he was elected via a preference vote as a Member of the European Parliament. In 2008, the former President of the Republic of Slovenia, Danilo Türk, appointed Borut Pahor formateur of a new coalition government.

On June 2, 2012, he announced that he would run in presidential elections that autumn, and on December 2 of that year, he was elected the fourth President of the Republic of Slovenia. 

Borut Pahor and his partner, lawyer Tanja Pečar, have a son, Luka. Borut Pahor is fluent in English and Italian, and has a working knowledge of French. In his free time, he particularly enjoys being active in sport. 

Source: Information provided by the Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the United Nations, September 2013