"Slovenians have shown what kind of a country they want", said Natasa Pirc Musar after she won a presidential election runoff.
ADVERTISEMENTNatasa Pirc Musar has vowed to bridge the deep left-right divide in Slovenia -- after she won a presidential election run off to become the country's first female head-of-state.
With nearly all of the votes counted in the small European Union nation, Pirc Musar led Slovenia's conservative former Foreign Minister Anze Logar by 54 percent to 46 percent.
"My first task will be to open a dialogue among all Slovenians", she said.
Her victory boosts the country's liberal bloc following the center-left coalition victory in Slovenia’s parliamentary election in April.
None of the seven contenders managed to gather more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round and so secure victory, meaning Logar and Pirc Musar went forward to a runoff.
The LGBTQ+ rights advocate succeeds President Borut Pahor, a centrist who also aimed to bridge Slovenia’s left-right political divide, during his decade in office.
He is prevented from seeking a third term, as rules limit presidents to two five-year terms.
The head of state is viewed as a position of authority and influence in Slovenia, though it is largely a ceremonial role.
Presidents nominate prime ministers and members of the constitutional court, who are then elected in parliament, and appoint members of the anti-corruption commission.
As a prominent lawyer, Pirc Musar represented former US first lady Melania Trump over copyright and other matters in her native Slovenia.
Pirc Musar has drawn fire from critics over her husband’s sprawling business empire.
She becomes the first woman to serve as president since Slovenia became independent amid the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991.