Barbara Miklič Türk ( Miklič, born 1948) is a

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

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 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 Nat ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Personal life

Miklič was born in 1948 in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Socialist Republic of Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia (, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Socialist Slovenia or simply Slovenia, was one ...

(now the capital of the Republic of Slovenia). 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 (mining), face; cutt ...

and geophysical engineer, and her mother was a

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

. During her teenage years, she lived with her family in Sudan, and went to a Catholic school there. In 1975, she met

whilst working as a librarian at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

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

First Lady of the United States First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by 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 been Code of law, codified or offici ...

, 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 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

since Slovenia's independence from

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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 Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, Iceland. During a state visit from the

Emir of Qatar The Emir of the State of Qatar () is the monarch and head of state of the country. The emir is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and guarantor of the Constitution. The emir holds the most powerful position in the country, and has a ...

, Miklič Türk prepared a visit for the First Lady of Qatar to the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana (, , ), abbreviated UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 38,000 enrolled students. The university has 23 faculties and three art academies with approximately 4,000 teaching and re ...

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 21st-century women librarians 21st-century librarians