Dr. Janez Drnovšek (1950 - 2008)

Dr. Janez Drnovšek was born on 17th May, 1950, in Celje, and he spent a part of his youth in Kisovec, in the municipality of Zagorje of Savi. He finished his study of economics at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Ljubljana, and in 1986, he successfully defended his PhD thesis in the field of economics sciences at the Faculty of Economics and Business in Maribor. In 1994, he was awarded an honorary PhD title by the Boston University, and in 1999, he was awarded another honorary PhD title by the Illinois Wesleyan University. Additionally, he was awarded an honorary title of a senator by the European Academy of Sciences and Art in Salzburg.

Until 1989, he was doing various jobs in the economy sector, and he also worked in the field of credit monetary policy. After a successful career in the banking sector, in 1989, dr. Drnovšek was elected at the first free democratic elections to be the Slovenian representative in the joint presidency of the former Yugoslavia. From May 1989 until May 1990, he served as the chair of the presidency of the former Yugoslavia

In September 1989, he served as the chair of the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade. During the separation of the Republic of Slovenia from the former Yugoslavia, dr. Drnovšek was the leading negotiator between Slovenian leadership and the leaderships of the former Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav National Army. In July 1991, he negotiated a permanent withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army from Slovenia. For his exceptional actions in defence of the freedom and sovereignty of the Republic of Slovenia, dr. Janez Drnovšek was awarded the highest national award on 24th June, 1992 – the Gold Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia

On 22nd December, 2002, dr. Janez Drnovšek was officially sworn into the office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia in front of the Slovene National Assembly. Prior to that, he had been the Prime Minister of Slovenia for 10 years, since 1992, as he was the leader of the strongest party, Liberal Democracy of Slovenia. As its leader, he led the party to victory at the parliament elections three consecutive times – in 1992, 1996 and 2000.

In his active political years, dr. Drnovšek was a regular participant at international meetings, conferences and forums at the highest levels. Dr. Drnovšek received several international awards for his political, economic and humanitarian achievements as well as his personal contribution towards successful transition and development of Slovenia into a democratic and economically stable country – including La prix de la Mediterranee award (Crans Montana Forum, Malta, October, 1995), Hubert H. Humphrey Award by the American Institute for Public Affairs (University of Minnesota, May, 1997), Fund for American Studies (American Institute on Political and Economic Systems, Prague, August, 1998), Diálogo Europeo Award (Madrid, November, 1998), Ramón Trias Fargas Award (Barcelona, November, 2003).

Dr. Drnovšek was often an lecturer or guest of honour at renowned international institutions and universities all around the world. He is also the author of numerous articles from the field of credit and monetary policies and international financial relationships, wherein he focused on the global debt crisis. 1996 saw the publishing of his book Moja resnica (My Truth), where d. Drnovšek described his experience and view of the break-up of former Yugoslavia. As the president of thr Republic of Slovenia, dr. Janez Drnovšek fostered discussions about the future of the Republic of Slovenia, and his actions further attracted Slovenian experts from various fields, academics, scientists, economists and numerous other representatives of Slovenian society to join a broad public debate to focus on the topics that are of key importance for the functioning of the Slovenian state in the future.

 

In 2006, dr. Drnovšek launched World for Darfur (Svet za Darfur); his international initiative for humanitarian action, which received support signatures by numerous respected individuals worldwide. Furthermore, he was an initiator of the Fruits of Society (Sadeži družbe) project, the aim of which was to encourage voluntary work and intergenerational cooperation. Also in 2006, dr. Drnovšek established his Movement for Justice and Development (Gibanje za pravičnost in razvoj). In May that same year, dr. Drnovšek wrote his book Thoughts on Life and Consciousness (Misli o življenju in zavedanju), which is oriented towards a person, search for their inner balance and inner peace as well as establishing awareness about oneself and the world. In October, he wrote his new short book Golden Thoughts (Zalte misli), which introduces rearranged thoughts from his previous book to the reader in a convenient way as well as some new ones. In 2006, dr. Drnovšek also wrote his book Meaning of the World (Bistvo sveta), which is an upgrade of Thoughts on Life and Consciousness and was first published in German and then in Slovene as well as Croatian.

In 2007, dr. Drnovšek wrote his book Conversations from the Field of Spirituality, where he deals with the core questions of a person’s existence, meaning of life and their destiny.

After a horrible disease, he died on 23rd February, 2008. He is buried at the cemetery in Zagorje ob Savi.

In 2008, the local authorities unveiled his bust, the work of the mason Mirsad Begić.

Since 2015, the town park in Zagorje ob Savi was officially named as the Janez Drnovšek Park.

Source: Office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Municipality Zagorje ob Savi