Štefka Kučan (born 1943) is a Slovenian public figure who served as the inaugural

First Lady of Slovenia First Gentleman () or First Lady () of Slovenia is the title attributed to the husband, wife, or domestic partner of the president of Slovenia. There has been one first gentleman of Slovenia so far – Aleš Musar, whose wife is President Nata� ...

from 1991, when the country achieved independence, until 2002. She is the wife of Slovenia's first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Milan Kučan Milan Kučan (; born 14 January 1941) is a Slovenian former politician who served as the first President of Slovenia from 1991 to 2002. Before being president of Slovenia, he was the 13th President of Slovenia#Socialist Republic of Slovenia, Pres ...

Biography

Kučan was born into the Korosica family in

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

, a traditional region of northern Slovenia. She was raised in both

Slovenj Gradec Slovenj Gradec (; '', ''after about 1900 ''Windischgraz'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the centre of the Urban Municipality of Slovenj Gradec. It is part of the historical Styria region, and since 2005 it has belonged to the NUTS-3 C ...

and nearby Šmartno. She met her husband,

, as a student in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

. The couple married in 1964 and had two daughters, Ana Kučan, a

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

and professor at 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 ...

, and Špela, an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and

ethnologist Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Scien ...

. During her tenure as Slovenia's first First Lady, Kučan sponsored charities and other organizations. In 1998, she participated in the country's first roundtable discussion on the issue of same-sex marriage in Slovenia. In 2002, Kučan was honored as "" by ''Jana'' magazine, beating fifteen other nominees for the annual award. Kučan survived cancer in the 1990s and underwent successful cancer surgery again in 2012.

References

Living people Date of birth unknown Year of birth unknown First ladies of Slovenia Slovenian women in politics People from Slovenj Gradec 1943 births {{Slovenia-politician-stub