Štefka Kučan (born ?) 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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, Milan Kučan.

Biography

Kučan was born into the Korosica family in

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

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

Slovenj Gradec Slovenj Gradec (; german: Windischgrätz'', ''after about 1900 ''Windischgraz'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Slovenj Gradec. It is part of the historical Styria region, and since 2005 it has belon ...

and nearby Šmartno. She met her husband, Milan Kučan, as a student in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

. 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 manageme ...

and professor at the University of Ljubljana, and Špela, an

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

and

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

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kucan, Stefka Living people Date of birth unknown Year of birth unknown First Ladies of Slovenia Slovenian women in politics People from Slovenj Gradec