Milan Kučan 429893 209861372 2008-05-03T07:16:57Z BalkanFever 6055702 fiz link {{BLPsources|date=March 2008}} {{Infobox President | name =Milan Kučan | image =Milan Kucan.jpg | order =1st [[President of Slovenia|President of the Republic of Slovenia]] | term_start =[[October 8]], [[1991]] | term_end =[[December 22]], [[2002]] | prime_minister= | predecessor =Position established | successor =[[Janez Drnovšek]] | birth_date ={{birth date and age|1941|1|14}} | birth_place =[[Križevci, Slovenia|Križevci]], [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] <br> Present day [[Slovenia]] | spouse =[[Štefka Kučan]] | party = }} '''Milan Kučan''' (born in [[Križevci, Slovenia|Križevci]], [[Slovenia]], then a part of the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] on [[January 14]], [[1941]]) is a [[Slovenes|Slovene]] [[politician]] and [[statesman]]. He was the first [[President of Slovenia|President of Slovenia]]. ==Early life and political beginnings== Kučan was born in a [[Lutheran]] teachers' family with five children in what was then a largely agrarian border region of [[Prekmurje]]. His father died during [[World War Two]]. Kučan studied law at the [[University of Ljubljana]] and soon became involved in the [[Communist]] political organizations of the time. In 1968, he became the president of the Slovene Youth Association, then secretary of the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Slovenia (a central organization, created to unite all [[civil society]] associations under one roof) between 1974 and 1978. He rose to speaker of the National Assembly in [[1978]], and in [[1982]] he became representative for the [[Communist Party of Slovenia|Slovene Communists]] in the [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia]] CC in [[Belgrade]]. In [[1986]], he became the leader of the [[League of Communists of Slovenia]]. At that time, liberal and democratic sentiment started to grow in Slovenia, as opposed to the political atmosphere of Belgrade and [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|Serbia]] under [[Slobodan Milošević]]. Advocating in favour of [[human rights]] and European democratic values and principles, Kučan, his party and Slovenia faced increasingly severe political confrontations with Belgrade and Serbia.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968740,00.html Communism O Nationalism!], ''[[TIME Magazine]]'', October 24, 1988</ref> 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. ==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, in 1990, in a ballot against the [[DEMOS coalition|DEMOS]] candidate [[Jože Pučnik]]. Kučan strongly opposed the preservation of Yugoslavia through violent means. 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 [[25 June]] [[1991]]. In his speech on the occasion, Kučan ended with the words that remained famous: "Today dreams are allowed, tomorrow is a new day." The celebrations were brutally interrupted by the aggression of the Yugoslav Army and the [[Ten-Day War]] started. At the peace talks began at [[Brioni]], with the European Community as a mediator, the Army started its withdrawal from Slovenia. Kučan represented Slovenia at the peace conference on former Yugoslavia in [[the Hague]] and [[Brussels]] which concluded that the former Yugoslav nations were free to determine their future as independent states. On May 22, 1992 Kučan represented Slovenia as it became a new member of the [[United Nations]]. After the independence and the international recognition of Slovenia, Kučan was elected as the first [[List of Presidents of Slovenia|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 referendums on joining the EU and NATO. Milan Kučan took an active part in campaigning for these memberships, in order for Slovenia to achieve the goals it had set upon its independence. In May 2004, Slovenia became a full member of both the EU and NATO. Kučan is married to Štefka Kučan. Since November 2004, Kučan has been a member of the [[Club of Madrid]]<ref>[http://www.clubmadrid.org The Club of Madrid]</ref>, an association of former democratic 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 [[left-wing]] [[think-tank]] reflecting on issues of relevance for the future development of Slovenia and its position in a global society. ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == {{Commons}} * [http://www.nekdanji-pr.gov.si/enindex.htm President of the Republic of Slovenia, archived pages] * [http://www.bivsi-predsednik.si/up-rs/mk.nsf/ostalo/Biography Biography] {{start box}} {{succession box|title=[[League of Communists of Slovenia|Chairman of the League of Communists of Slovenia]]|years=1986&ndash;1990|before=[[Andrej Marinc]]|after=Position Abolished}} {{succession box| title=post created<br>[[President of Slovenia]]| years=1990&ndash;2002| before=[[Janez Stanovnik]]'''<br />''as '''President of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia''| after=[[Janez Drnovšek]] }} {{end box}} {{Slovenian President}} [[Category:1941 births|Kucan, Milan]] [[Category:Living people|Kucan, Milan]] [[Category:Slovenian politicians|Kucan, Milan]] [[Category:Yugoslav politicians|Kucan, Milan]] [[Category:Yugoslav communists|Kucan, Milan]] [[Category:Presidents of Slovenia|Kucan, Milan]] [[Category:Recipients of the Star of Romania Order|Kucan, Milan]] [[Category:Knights of the Elephant]] [[de:Milan Kučan]] [[et:Milan Kučan]] [[fr:Milan Kučan]] [[hr:Milan Kučan]] [[hu:Milan Kučan]] [[io:Milan Kučan]] [[id:Milan Kučan]] [[it:Milan Kučan]] [[nl:Milan Kučan]] [[no:Milan Kučan]] [[oc:Milan Kučan]] [[pl:Milan Kučan]] [[sl:Milan Kučan]] [[sr:Милан Кучан]] [[sh:Milan Kučan]] [[fi:Milan Kučan]]