Dominika Švarc Pipan (born 9 July 1978) is a Slovenian politician and lawyer. She serves as the minister of justice 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, an ...

since 2022.

Early life and career

Dominika Švarc Pipan was born on 9 July 1978 in

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 ...

. She grew up in

Dravograd Dravograd (; german: Unterdrauburg) is a small town in northern Slovenia, close to the border with Austria. It is the seat of the Municipality of Dravograd. It lies on the Drava River at the confluence with the Meža and the Mislinja. It is ...

. She attended the Ravne na Koroškem Gymnasium and graduated in 1997. She then enrolled at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

and studied Law. She graduated from the institution in 2003. She continued her education at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

where she majored in Political Science and in 2011 received her PhD in political science. She was a volleyball coach in her youth. During the

2018 Slovenian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Slovenia on 3 June 2018. The elections were originally expected to be held later in June 2018, but after the resignation of Prime Minister Miro Cerar on 14 March 2018 all parties called for snap elections. The ...

, she contested on the platform of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

in the district of

Radlje ob Dravi Radlje ob Dravi (, in older sources ''Marbeg'', german: Mahrenberg) is a town in the Municipality of Radlje ob Dravi in northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the municipality. The settlement lies on a terrace on the left bank of the Drava River ...

. She received 1,794 votes (16.74%) of the vote and ranked second in the district. Between September 2018 and March 2020, she served as state secretary at the Ministry of Justice 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 ...

. On 10 October 2020, she was elected the Vice President of

Social Democrats (Slovenia) The Social Democrats ( sl, Socialni demokrati, SD) is a centre-left and pro-European social-democratic political party in Slovenia led by Tanja Fajon. From 1993 until 2005, the party was known as the United List of Social Democrats ( sl, Združen ...

. During

2022 Slovenian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Slovenia on 24 April 2022 to elect all 90 members of the National Assembly. The ruling Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), led by prime minister Janez Janša, conceded and was defeated by Robert Golob and his ...

, she ran for office and received 759 (6.08%) votes and was not elected to office. On 1 June 2022, she was appointed as the minister of justice in the

15th Government of Slovenia 15th Government of Slovenia (also known as the Golob Cabinet) was formed by Robert Golob following the 2022 Slovenian parliamentary election. Robert Golob, leader of the Freedom Movement, was nominated as Prime Minister, and was approved as su ...

under the leadership of Prime Minister

Robert Golob Robert Golob (born 23 January 1967) is a Slovenian businessman and politician, serving as Prime Minister of Slovenia and leader of the Freedom Movement since 2022. Early life and education Golob obtained his PhD in electrical engineering at t ...

Personal life

In 2017, she married her husband Matjaž Pipan and has one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pipan, Dominika Švarc 1978 births Living people 21st-century Slovenian lawyers Female justice ministers Justice ministers of Slovenia People from Slovenj Gradec Slovenian women lawyers Slovenian politicians Social Democrats (Slovenia) politicians University of Ljubljana alumni Women government ministers of Slovenia 21st-century women lawyers