![Peter Jambrek](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Peter_Jambrek.jpg)
Peter Jambrek (born 14 January 1940) 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
sociologist,
jurist,
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 ...
and intellectual. He is considered among the fathers of the current
Slovenian Constitution and among the most influential
public intellectual
An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or ...
s in Slovenia.
Life
He was born 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 are ...
, then part of
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, and attended high school in
Maribor and in Ljubljana. He studied law 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 ...
, graduating in 1962. In his student years, he was active in student organizations and was among the editors of the student journal ''
Tribuna
''Tribuna'' (russian: Трибуна) is a weekly Russian newspaper that focuses largely on industry and the energy sector.
History
Tribunas published its first publication in July 1969. Until 1990, the newspaper titled the ''Sotsialisticheska ...
''. He obtained his MA in sociology in 1966, and joined the
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 ...
the same year. Between 1968 and 1971, he studied sociology at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, obtaining his PhD in 1971.
Academic and political career
In the early 1970s, Jambrek was close to the reformist wing of the Slovenian Communist Party, led by
Stane Kavčič and
Ernest Petrič. After the authoritarian turn in the
Yugoslav Communist Party
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
in 1972-73, which also affected Slovenia, Jambrek withdrew to purely academic work. He obtained professorship at the Faculty of Law and at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana. He studied
conflict theory
Conflict may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton
* ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne
* ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...
and published a sociological study on rituals and rebellions. Between 1973 and 1975, he taught at the
University of Zambia
The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...
in
Lusaka. In 1975, he published a comparative study on the transformation of tribal societies into nation states. Between 1975 and 1982, he published several books analyzing the structure of political decisions in Yugoslav local government.
In the 1980s, Jambrek started collaborating with dissident intellectuals around the journal ''
Nova revija''. He rose to prominence in 1987, when he published a thorough legal study on the possibilities 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 ...
n secession 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 the collective volume
Contributions for a Slovenian National Program
Contributions to the Slovene National Program ( sl, Prispevki za slovenski nacionalni program), also known as Nova revija 57 or 57th edition of Nova revija ( sl, 57. številka Nove revije) was a special issue of the Slovene opposition intellectua ...
.
In 1989, he left the Communist Party and became a founding member of the
Slovenian Democratic Union, one of the first democratic non-Communist parties organized during the
Slovenian Spring
The history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovenian territory from the 5th century BC to the present. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto- Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the city of Trieste. The Slo ...
, 1988-1990. After the victory of the anti-Communist
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 ...
in the first Slovenian free elections in spring 1990, he was appointed member of the
Slovenian Constitutional Court. In the years 1990-1991, he became one of the foremost members of the Constitutional Committee that wrote the new Slovenian Constitution.
In 1993, he was appointed member of the
European Court for Human Rights in
Strasbourg. Between June and November 2000, he served as Minister of the Interior 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 ...
. In 2004, he was among the co-founders of the
liberal conservative
Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by li ...
platform
Rally for the Republic, and served as its chairman until 2008.
Peter Jambrek was the editor to the European Public Hearing on
"Crimes Committed by Totalitarian Regimes" organised by Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
(January–June 2008) and the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...
.
Despite never being its member, he was supportive of the
Slovenian Democratic Party
The Slovenian Democratic Party ( sl, Slovenska demokratska stranka, SDS), formerly the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia ( sl, Socialdemokratska stranka Slovenije, SDSS), is a conservative political party in Slovenia. It has been described as ...
until October 2011 when he voiced his sympathy for the newly established liberal centrist
Gregor Virant's Civic List
Civic List ( sl, Državljanska lista, DL) is an inactive classical liberalism, classical-liberal extra-parliamentary list of political parties in Slovenia, political party in Slovenia, led by Gregor Virant. LGV won 8.37% of the vote at the early ...
.
At the presidential election in 2022 he voiced his support to Lacanian psychoanalyst and philosopher
Nina Krajnik. Krajnik stated that Jambrek opened her eyes to presidential candidacy.
End of political participation
Jambrek had a fallout with the
Slovenian Democratic Party
The Slovenian Democratic Party ( sl, Slovenska demokratska stranka, SDS), formerly the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia ( sl, Socialdemokratska stranka Slovenije, SDSS), is a conservative political party in Slovenia. It has been described as ...
(SDS) in 2011. After voicing his support for the
Civic List, he was accused of being an agent of the Yugoslav secret police, In an interview published by
Planet Siol.net, Jambrek characterized the SDS as a party of "
humiliated and insulted
''Humiliated and Insulted'' (russian: Униженные и оскорблённые, ''Unizhennye i oskorblyonnye'') — also known in English as ''The Insulted and Humiliated'', ''The Insulted and the Injured'' or ''Injury and Insult'' — is ...
class, who never had privileges and who are frustrated because of that" He is not involved in politics anymore.
An interview with Jambrek
Mladina
''Mladina'' (English: Youth) is a Slovenian weekly left-wing political and current affairs magazine. Since the 1920s, when it was first published, it has become a voice of protest against those in power. Today, ''Mladinas weekly issues are dis ...
, 16 December 2012, Ljubljana.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jambrek, Peter
Constitutional court judges
Judges of the European Court of Human Rights
Slovenian sociologists
Lawyers from Ljubljana
Slovenian Democratic Union politicians
Interior ministers of Slovenia
Politicians from Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana alumni
University of Chicago alumni
Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana
1940 births
Living people
League of Communists of Slovenia politicians
20th-century Slovenian judges
Slovenian judges of international courts and tribunals
University of Zambia faculty