President Borut Pahor’s political career spans over three decades. In 1990, he was elected as the youngest deputy to the 1st National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia during its first democratic multiparty elections. He has served as President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia (2000–2004), Member of the European Parliament (2004–2008) and Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia (2008–2012). In December 2012, he was elected the fourth President of the Republic of Slovenia. In November 2017, he was re-elected for a second five-year term.

President Pahor has devoted his presidency to national reconciliation and the promotion of peace and dialogue. “When we exhaust every option and the will for dialogue fades, we have to return to dialogue and trust in its power,” he states. Internationally, President Pahor has been promoting cooperation between countries and peaceful resolutions of disputes. He is an advocate of a strong European Union and its future enlargement, especially to Western Balkans, where he supports countries’ Euro-Atlantic aspirations. President Pahor also puts significant emphasis on the future of climate and our planet.

President Borut Pahor is a staunch believer in the ever-closer European Union, united, free and in peace that would as soon as possible include Western Balkans.

President Pahor is the leader and co-founder of the Brdo-Brijuni Process, a joint initiative by Slovenia and Croatia, formed as a driving force for political and overall development in Western Balkans and its Euro-Atlantic integration. Brdo-Brijuni Process was an incentive for other high-level discussions, the Berlin Process being amongst them.

He sees the future in a more closely integrated Europe, competitive in the global market and better equipped for coping with global challenges, such as climate change and, following recent events in Ukraine, security.

President Pahor has received several state decorations of the highest level from different countries. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Lisbon for his efforts for reconciliation and the common European project (2022) and has received the “Sigillum Magnum”, the highest honour of the University of Bologna, which is awarded to the most influential persons (2021). He also hold the esteemed title of the Protector of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.