Mag. Matej Tonin, born on 30 July 1983, studied political science at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana, where he obtained a master’s degree in 2010 on the topic of the process of Slovenia’s gaining independence and the economic effects of Slovenia’s independence.

He has been actively involved in politics since 2001, when he joined the New Slovenia – Christian Democrats Party (NSi). He was elected to the municipal council of the Municipality of Kamnik in the local elections held in 2006, 2010 and 2014. In 2007 he began to work with the NSi Deputy Group as a public relations adviser, and then in 2008 decided to pursue an independent entrepreneurial path. He established the company Vizija, which was engaged in video production and the creation of a local online publication. He led this company until 2011, when he was elected deputy to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia in the first early parliamentary election. He was also elected as a deputy in the 2014 parliamentary election, and was appointed the leader of the NSi Deputy Group in both terms of office. In 2018 he took over the leadership of the NSi. In 2018 he was re-elected as a deputy in the early parliamentary election and elected as President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia at the constitutive session. After a minority government was formed, he became Chair of the Commission for the Supervision of Intelligence and Security Services.

Since 2011 he has been a member of the Committee on Defence in the National Assembly, and since 2012 a member of the National Assembly delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, where he has been particularly active within the Science and Technology Committee. In the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, he was appointed Rapporteur to the Parliamentary Assembly three times. He presented a report on the use and importance of artificial intelligence in armed forces, the dark web, and risks and challenges posed by smart devices connected to the internet to the members of the Parliamentary Assembly. He outlined his vision of the development of the Slovenian state in the book entitled Upanje za Slovenijo (Hope for Slovenia), which also presents his political agenda.