Barbara Miklič Türk ( Miklič, born 1948) is a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n politician, who was

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 2007 to 2012, when her husband Danilo Türk was

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 ...

Personal life

Miklič was born in 1948 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 ...

Socialist Republic of Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...

(now the capital of the

Republic of Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

). Her father was a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

and geophysical engineer, and her mother was a

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

. During her teenage years, she lived with her family in Sudan, and went to a Catholic school there. In 1975, she met Danilo Türk whilst working as a librarian at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. The couple married a year later, and have a daughter, Helen.

Political career

In 2006, Barbara's husband Danilo became the third President of the Republic of Slovenia, and as such, Barbara Miklič Türk became the

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

. Speaking in 2010, Miklič Türk said that the role was less well-defined than the

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

, and mostly consisted of accompanying her husband on state business. In 2008, Miklič Türk attended the first state visit of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

since Slovenia's independence from

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in 1991. During the visit, she spoke with them about non-governmental organisations. In 2010, Miklič Türk hosted a conference for Finnish volunteer organisations in the fields of health and social care. In 2011, she attended the opening of the Harpa concert hall in Reykjavík, Iceland. During a state visit from the

Emir of Qatar The Emir, or Amir, of the State of Qatar ( ar, أمیر دولة قطر) is the monarch and head of state of the country. He is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and guarantor of the Constitution. He holds the most powerful positio ...

, Miklič Türk prepared a visit for the First Lady of Qatar to the University of Ljubljana to meet the rector and discuss inter-nation co-operation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miklič Türk, Barbara 1948 births Living people First ladies of Slovenia Politicians from Ljubljana Slovenian librarians Women librarians