Lojze Peterle
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alojz "Lojze" Peterle (born 5 July 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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He is a member of
New Slovenia New Slovenia – Christian Democrats ( sl, Nova Slovenija – Krščanski demokrati, NSi) is a Christian-democratic, conservative political party in Slovenia. Since 2018, it is led by Matej Tonin. The party was formed on 4 August 2000 following ...
, part of the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
. He served as
Prime Minister of Slovenia The prime minister of Slovenia, officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Predsednik Vlade Republike Slovenije), is the head of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. There have been nine officeholders sinc ...
from 1990 to 1992, Leader of the Christian Democrats from the founding of the party in 1990 until it merged with the
Slovenian People's Party The Slovenian People's Party ( sl, Slovenska ljudska stranka, , Slovene abbreviation SLS ) is a conservative, agrarian, Christian-democratic political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first democ ...
in 2000, and was
Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
from 1993 to 1994 and again in 2000. He was a
Member of the National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
from 1996 to 2004, and a
Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
from 2004 to 2019.


Early life and career

Lojze Peterle was born to a peasant family in the
Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( sl, Dolenjska; german: Unterkrain) is a traditional region in Slovenia, the southeastern part of the historical Carniola region. Geography Lower Carniola is delineated by the Ljubljana Basin with the city of Ljubljana to the n ...
n village of Čužnja Vas near
Trebnje Trebnje (, german: Treffen) is a town in southeastern Slovenia. Trebnje lies on the Temenica, Temenica River in the traditional region of Lower Carniola. The area was already settled in Antiquity. The modern settlement developed on the main regio ...
. He attended the Novo Mesto Grammar School. In 1967, he enrolled in 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 ...
, where he studied history and geography, and later also economy. During his student years, he started collaborating with the
Christian left The Christian left is a range of left-wing Christian political and social movements that largely embrace social justice principles and uphold a social doctrine or social gospel. Given the inherent diversity in international political thoug ...
intellectual circle around the journal '' Revija 2000''. In the 1980s, Peterle started working at the Institute for Urban planning of the
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 ...
. In the mid-1980s, he was involved in several projects of trans-regional cooperation within the
Alpe-Adria Alpe-Adria is a bioregion in Central Europe, embracing all of Slovenia, the Austrian states of Carinthia and Styria, and the Italian regions of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and Veneto. , it is the subject of a proposal to create the world's first organic ...
regional cooperation network.


Political career


Leader of the Christian Democrats, 1990–2000

In 1990, he was elected president of the newly founded
Slovene Christian Democrats The Slovene Christian Democrats ( sl, Slovenski krščanski demokrati, SKD) was a Christian-democratic political party in Slovenia between 1989 and 2000. It was founded as the Slovene Christian Social Movement in March 1989. Its first president w ...
. Peterle became
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
of Slovenia in May 1990 after parliamentary elections of April 1990 won by the
DEMOS coalition Democratic Opposition of Slovenia, also known as the DEMOS (in Slovenian: ''Demokratična opozicija Slovenije'') was a coalition of centre-right political parties, created by an agreement between the Slovenian Democratic Union, the Social Democrat ...
(which included Christian Democrats and was created in the opposition to the
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
rule). In 1991, the DEMOS-led Slovene Parliament declared the country's independence from Yugoslavia, in compliance with the result of a
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
held in December the previous year. He served as prime minister until May 1992, when due to an internal crisis in the
DEMOS coalition Democratic Opposition of Slovenia, also known as the DEMOS (in Slovenian: ''Demokratična opozicija Slovenije'') was a coalition of centre-right political parties, created by an agreement between the Slovenian Democratic Union, the Social Democrat ...
, a new coalition government under
Janez Drnovšek Janez Drnovšek (; 17 May 1950 – 23 February 2008) was a Slovenian liberal politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1989–1990), Prime Minister of Slovenia (1992–2002, with a short break in 2000) and President of Slovenia (200 ...
was established by a
constructive vote of no confidence The constructive vote of no confidence (german: konstruktives Misstrauensvotum, es, moción de censura constructiva) is a variation on the motion of no confidence that allows a parliament to withdraw confidence from a head of government only if t ...
. In the elections of 1992, the Christian Democrats gained some support and became the second largest party in a highly fragmented
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
, after the Liberal Democratic Party. The Christian Democrats entered a cross-party coalition with the Liberal Democrats and the
United List of Social Democrats The Social Democrats ( sl, Socialni demokrati, SD) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left and Pro-Europeanism, pro-European Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Slovenia, political party in Slovenia led by Tanja Fajon. ...
(former
Communist Party of Slovenia The League of Communists of Slovenia ( sl, Zveza komunistov Slovenije, ZKS; sh, Savez komunista Slovenije) was the Slovenian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1989. It was establis ...
) under the leadership of
Janez Drnovšek Janez Drnovšek (; 17 May 1950 – 23 February 2008) was a Slovenian liberal politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1989–1990), Prime Minister of Slovenia (1992–2002, with a short break in 2000) and President of Slovenia (200 ...
. Peterle served as deputy prime minister and
foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
from January 1993 until October 1994. Tensions were deep in the coalition, however, and Peterle resigned from his posts in 1994 when Drnovšek nominated
Jožef Školč Jožef Školč (born 19 August 1960) is a Slovenian left liberal politician. He was born in the village of Breginj in western Slovenia, in what was then the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He graduated from political science at the ...
, a member of his own Liberal Democratic Party, to be speaker of Parliament, against the wishes of Peterle who believed that a Christian Democrat should be the speaker. The Christian Democrats did remain in the coalition, which was often divided over specific policy issues. In 1996, Peterle called for the dismissal of foreign minister Zoran Thaler because of his belief that Thaler did not do enough to help Slovenia's relations with
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. In the 1996 elections, Peterle's party suffered a decisive defeat, losing popular support to the other two centre-right parties, the
Social Democratic Party of Slovenia The Slovenian Democratic Party ( sl, Slovenska demokratska stranka, SDS), formerly the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia ( sl, Socialdemokratska stranka Slovenije, SDSS), is a Conservatism, conservative List of political parties in Slovenia, p ...
and the Slovene People's Party, that had remained in the opposition and had criticised what they called a "unprincipled coalition between Christian Democracy and former Communists". Between 1996 and 2000, the Christian Democrats remained in opposition, and Peterle's leadership was frequently challenged by different fractions within the party. He nevertheless managed to remain the chairman of the Party until 2000, when the Christian Democrats merged with the
Slovenian People's Party The Slovenian People's Party ( sl, Slovenska ljudska stranka, , Slovene abbreviation SLS ) is a conservative, agrarian, Christian-democratic political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first democ ...
, which had until then supported
Janez Drnovšek Janez Drnovšek (; 17 May 1950 – 23 February 2008) was a Slovenian liberal politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1989–1990), Prime Minister of Slovenia (1992–2002, with a short break in 2000) and President of Slovenia (200 ...
's third term as Prime Minister. As a consequence, Drnovšek's government fell in 2000, and Peterle became foreign minister again in the short-lived centre-right government of
Andrej Bajuk Andrej Bajuk, also known in Spanish as Andrés Bajuk (18 October 1943 – 16 August 2011) was a Slovene politician and economist. He served briefly as Prime Minister of Slovenia in the year 2000, and was Minister of Finance in the centre-right g ...
from June 2000 to November 2000.


After the elections of 2000

Due to a disagreement over the election legislation, Peterle left the Slovene People's Party shortly after its unification with the Christian Democrats and joined the newly founded New Slovenia – Christian People's Party. In the elections of 2000, both of Slovenia's conservative and christian democratic parties suffered a defeat against Drnovšek's
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia Liberal Democracy of Slovenia ( sl, Liberalna demokracija Slovenije, LDS) is a social-liberal political party in Slovenia. Between 1992 and 2004 it was the largest (and ruling) party in the country. In the 2011 Slovenian parliamentary election, i ...
, while the Slovenian Social Democratic Party assumed the undisputed leadership of the centre-right opposition.


Member of the European Parliament, 2004-2019

In 2002, Peterle became the 13th member of the steering committee of the
Convention on the Future of Europe The Convention on the Future of the European Union, also known as the European Convention, was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration. Inspired by the Philadelphia Convention that led to ...
, which drafted the ''
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European U ...
''. In the 2004 elections to the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, Peterle was elected for
New Slovenia New Slovenia – Christian Democrats ( sl, Nova Slovenija – Krščanski demokrati, NSi) is a Christian-democratic, conservative political party in Slovenia. Since 2018, it is led by Matej Tonin. The party was formed on 4 August 2000 following ...
, as a member of the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
(EPP). In March 2006, he was elected as Vice President of the
European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily Ch ...
for a three-year term after recovering from cancer in April 2003. Since entering the European Parliament, Peterle has been serving on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was also a member of the Subcommittee on Human Rights from 2004 until 2009. In addition to his committee assignments, Peterle has been chairing the parliament's delegation to the EU-former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee since 2014. He previously served on the delegations for relations with the countries of
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
(2004-2009), to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (2009-2014), to the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee (2009-2013) and for relations with
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(2013-2014). He is also a supporter of the MEP Heart Group, a group of parliamentarians who have an interest in promoting measures that will help reduce the burden of
cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...
s (CVD). In November 2006, Peterle announced that he would be running for
President of Slovenia The president of Slovenia, officially the president of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Predsednik Republike Slovenije), is the head of state of the Republic of Slovenia. The position was established on 23 December 1991 when the National Assembly (S ...
in the 2007 presidential election. Backed by most of the centre-right government, he was considered the front-runner before the first round of the election, but ultimately lost in a landslide to
Danilo Türk Danilo Türk (; born 19 February 1952) is a Slovenian diplomat, professor of international law, human rights expert, and political figure who served as President of Slovenia from 2007 to 2012. He was the first Slovene ambassador to the United Na ...
in the second round. He is a founder and current President of the grou
MEPs Against Cancer (MAC)
In September 2016, Peterle joined more than 50 MEPs from six different political groups – including Christofer Fjellner, Ashley Fox,
Vicky Ford Victoria Grace Ford (née Pollock, 21 September 1967) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Minister of State for Development from 6 September to 25 October 2022. She has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelmsfor ...
and
Beatrix von Storch Beatrix Amelie Ehrengard Eilika von Storch (née Herzogin von Oldenburg; 27 May 1971) is a German politician and lawyer, who has been the Deputy Leader of the Alternative for Germany since July 2015 and a Member of the Bundestag since Septembe ...
– in signing a proposal for a two-term limit of the
President of the European Parliament 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 ...
. This move was widely seen as an effort to prevent incumbent
Martin Schulz Martin Schulz (born 20 December 1955) is a German politician who served as Leader of the Social Democratic Party from 2017 to 2018, and was a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. Previously he was President of the European Parliam ...
from holding onto the presidency for a third consecutive term. Peterle was not re-elected to the European Parliament at the 2019 European Parliament election in Slovenia.


Other activities

Peterle is president of the Slovenian beekeepers association and hosted the 2003 Apimondia beekeepers congress 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 ...
.Praesidium oozing honey as Peterle shows he’s the bee’s knees
'' European Voice'', July 9, 2003.


Honours

*
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight f ...
(2019)


References


External links


Official Website
* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterle, Lojze 1948 births Foreign ministers of Slovenia Living people MEPs for Slovenia 2004–2009 MEPs for Slovenia 2009–2014 MEPs for Slovenia 2014–2019 New Slovenia MEPs People from the Municipality of Mokronog-Trebelno Prime Ministers of Slovenia Slovene Christian Democrats politicians Slovenian Spring University of Ljubljana alumni Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun