Janez Janša
Encyclopedia
Janez Janša is a Slovenia
n politician who was Prime Minister of Slovenia
from November 2004 to November 2008. He has also been President of the Slovenian Democratic Party
since 1993. Janša was Minister of Defense from 1990 to 1994, holding that post during the Slovenian War of Independence
(June-July 1991).
, he was called Janez (a version of the same name, known as John in English) since childhood. His father was a former member of the Slovenian Home Guard from Upper Carniola
who had escaped Communist
retaliation due to his young age. He graduated from the University of Ljubljana
with a degree in defence studies in 1982, and became a trainee in the Defence Secretariate of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia
. In his younger years, he was a member of the League of Communists and one of the leaders of its youth wing. He became president of the Committee for Basic People's Defence and Social Self-Protection of the Alliance of Socialist Youth of Slovenia (ZSMS).
(JNA). In the late 1980s, as Slovenia was introducing democratic reforms and gradually lifting restrictions on the freedom of speech
, Janša wrote several articles criticizing the Yugoslav People's Army
in the magazine Mladina
(published by Alliance of Socialist Youth of Slovenia). As a result, his re-election as president of the Committee was blocked in 1984, and in 1985 his passport was withdrawn. He said that he made over 250 job applications in the following year without success, and was unable to secure publication of any articles. In this period he earned his living writing computer programs and acting as a mountaineering guide. Liberalisation in the succeeding years allowed him to get work as secretary of the Journal for the Criticism of Science (1986) and later to begin publishing again in Mladina.
He became involved in the pacifist movement, and emerged as an important activist in the network of civil society organizations in Slovenia.
In 1987, Janša was approached by the family of the late politician Stane Kavčič, who had been the most important exponent of the reformist fraction in the Slovenian Communist Party in the late 1960s, and Prime Minister of Slovenia between 1967 and 1972; he was asked to edit the manuscript of Kavčič's diaries. Janša edited the volume together with Igor Bavčar
. The publication of the book was part of the political project of Niko Kavčič, former banker and prominent member of the reformist wing of the Communist Party, to establish a new Slovenian left wing political formation that would challenge the hardliners within the Communist Party.
In the spring of 1988, Janša ran for president of the Alliance of the Socialist Youth of Slovenia, a semi-independent youth organization of the Communist Party, which had been open, since 1986, also to non-party members. In his program, Janša proposed that the organization becomes completely independent from the Communist Party and transforms itself into an association of all youth and civic associations; he also proposed that it renamed itself to "Alliance of Youth Organizations and Movements", and that it assumed the role of the main civil society
platform in Slovenia. During the same time, he also actively participated in the public discussions on the constitutional changes of Yugoslav and Slovenian constitution.
On 30 May 1988, he was arrested together with three other Mladina journalists and a staff sergeant of the Yugoslav Army, Ivan Borštner. They were tried in a military court on charges of exposing military secrets, and given prison sentences. The trial was conducted in camera
, with no legal representation for the accused, and in Serbo-Croat (the official language in the Yugoslav army) rather than in Slovene. Janša was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, initially in the maximum security prison at Dob, but following a public outcry, he was transferred to the open prison of Ig
. The case became known as the JBTZ-trial
and triggered mass protests against the regime, which marked the beginning of the process of democratization, known as the Slovenian Spring. The Committee for the Defence of the Rights of Janez Janša was formed soon after his arrest, which became the largest grassroots civil society
organization in Slovenia with over 100,000 members.
Some circumstances surrounding Janša's arrest have never been clarified, especially the role played by the Slovenian Communist leadership. Janša later accused the Slovenian Communist leader Milan Kučan
of having given in to the Yugoslav Army's request for the arrest. Niko Kavčič, who was at that time considered Janša's political mentor, thought that the arrest was organized by the hardliners within the Slovenian Communist Party who were angered by the publication of Stane Kavčič's diaries and wanted to prevent the formation of an alternative reformist movement. The philosopher Slavoj Žižek
, who at the time also worked as a columnist for the Mladina magazine, suggested that Janša was arrested because of his critical articles on the Yugoslav Army, and because the Army wanted to prevent his election as president of the Alliance of the Socialist Youth. As a consequence of his arrest, he could not run for the position; nevertheless, the leadership of the organization decided to carry on with the elections despite Janša's arrest. In June 1988, Jožef Školč was elected as president of the Alliance of Socialist Youth instead of Janša. As a protest against the Alliance's decision not to postpone the elections, Janša's broke all relations with the organization.
Janša was released after serving about six months of sentence, and became editor in chief of the Slovene political weekly magazine Demokracija (Democracy). He remained in this position until the elections of May 1990.
(SDZ) and became its first vice-president, and later president of the Party Council. Following the first free elections in May 1990 he became the Minister of Defence in Lojze Peterle
's cabinet, a position he held during the Slovenian war for independence
in June and July 1991. Together with the Minister of Interior Igor Bavčar
, Janša was the main organizer's of Slovenia's defense strategy against the invasion of the Yugoslav People's Army
.
After the breakup of the SDZ in 1992, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia (now called Slovenian Democratic Party
) and remained Defence Minister in the center-left coalition government of Janez Drnovšek
until March 1994. In May 1993, he was elected president of the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia with the support of Jože Pučnik
, the party's previous leader, and was re-elected in 1995, 1999, 2001, 2005 and 2009.
populism
, close to demagoguery
. He was known for his nationalist
and xenophobic
rhetoric, including verbal attacks against foreigners, especially from the other former Yugoslav states, and "communists". Rudolf Rizman and Craig Nation have compared Janša with radical right-wing populist leaders of other European countries.
Janša's former friend and fellow dissident Spomenka Hribar
heavily criticized him in an article for Mladina
in 1995. She accused him of extreme nationalism and chauvinism
, placing feelings over rationality, and exploiting patriotic emotions among the population. Condemning his irredentist
claims towards Croatia
, she even went as far as denouncing his policies as obvious neo-fascism
.
During the same time, Janez Janša liked to project an image of himself being a victim of a conspiracy by a late communist secret organization called "Udbo-Mafija".
as a consequence of the so-called Smolnikar affair (also known as Depala Vas affair). The affair began when three military intelligence servicemen allegedly brutally arrested a civilian, hired by the Ministry of the Interior for espionage. Janša was never accused of direct responsibility for this action, but his public defence of the military agents who carried out the arrest provoked an outrage in the left wing sectors of the public opinion. Janša's stance triggered his dismissal and the removal of the Social Democratic Party from the ruling coalition. The official charges against the military servicemen involved were later dismissed, but the issue remains a point of controversy. Janša used the parliamentary debate on his dismissal for a radical criticism of the ruling coalition, including the Prime Minister Drnovšek and President Milan Kučan
, whom he accused of abusing his informal connections for subversive political actions. Janša's dismissal caused a great stir in the public opinion, including mass demonstrations in his support. Already in the local elections in the same year, the Social Democratic Party rose significantly, becoming the main opposition force, and in the 1996 parliamentary elections Janša's party rose from around 3.5% to more than 16%, becoming the third largest political party in the country.
Janša remained the leader of the opposition until 2004, with a short interim between June and November 2000, when he served as Defence Minister in the short-lived centre-right government of Christian democrat
Andrej Bajuk
. Many Slovenians were under the impression that Janša was more influential in this government than Prime Minister Bajuk. During this time he introduced chaplains
to the armed forces. Ahead of the 2004 electoral campaign, Janša turned towards moderation, tempering his radical language and attacks against alleged communists. Still, his harsh nationalistic rhetoric against immigrants from the South could be perceived.
, populism
, and nationalism
in Prime Minister Janša's political style.
After the landslide victory of the opposition candidate Danilo Türk
in the 2007 presidential election
, Janša filed a Motion of Confidence in the government on 15 November 2007, stating that the opposition's criticism was interfering with the government's work, contrary to the previous agreement between the parliamentary parties, in which the opposition agreed not to undermine the government's work during Slovenia's presidency over the European Union
. The government won the vote, held on November 19, with 51 votes supporting it and 33 opposing it. In the speech delivered after the vote, Janša announced, among other, an intensification of the fight against financial criminality and the illegal concentration of capital in the hands of single powerful managers, to whom he referred as tycoons
. In the following months, the Slovenian police and public prosecution launched a full scale investigation against some of the biggest companies in the country, namely against the Laško Brewery
Concern.
, allegations were made in Finnish TV in a documentary broadcast by the Finnish national broadcasting company YLE that Janša had received bribes from the Finnish
defense company Patria
(73.2 % of which is the property of the Finnish government) in the so-called Patria case
. Janša rejected all accusations as a media conspiracy concocted by left-wing Slovenian journalists, and asked YLE to provide evidence or to retract the story. Janša's naming of individual journalists, including some of those behind the 2007 Petition Against Political Pressure on Slovenian Journalists, and the perceived use of diplomatic channels in an attempt to coerce the Finnish government into interfering with YLE editorial policy, drew criticism from media freedom organisations such as the International Press Institute
.
As yet, YLE has declined to broadcast a retraction or to reveal its sources , because criminal investigation by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation is still underway.
In the elections, the Slovenian Democratic Party lost to the left wing coalition. In November 2008, he was replaced as Prime Minister by the Social Democrat
leader Borut Pahor
.
Janša has published several books, the two of which are Premiki ("Manoeuvres", published in 1992 and subsequently translated into English under the title "The Making of the Slovenian State") and Okopi ("Barricades", 1994), in which he exposes his views on the problems of Slovenia's transition from Communism
to a parliamentary democracy. In both books, but particularly in Okopi, Janša criticized the then president of Slovenia Milan Kučan
of interfering in daily politics using the informal influence he had gained as the last chairman of the Communist Party of Slovenia.
, golf
er, footballer, skier
and snowboard
er. Apart from his native Slovene, he is fluent in Serbo-Croatian
, English
, and French
.
Since July 2009, Janša has been married to the doctor of medicine Urška Bačovnik from Velenje
. The two were dating since 2006. In august 2011, their first child, Črtomir, was born.
Before his marriage with Urška Bačovnik, Janša was in a long-term relationship with Silva Predalič, who bore him two children, son Žan and daughter Nika, both whom are currently students.
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Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n politician who was Prime Minister of Slovenia
Prime Minister of Slovenia
There have been six Prime Ministers of Slovenia since that country gained its independence in the breakup of Yugoslavia. Unlike the President of Slovenia, who is directly elected, the Prime Minister is appointed by the National Assembly, and must control a majority there in order to...
from November 2004 to November 2008. He has also been President of the Slovenian Democratic Party
Slovenian Democratic Party
The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party...
since 1993. Janša was Minister of Defense from 1990 to 1994, holding that post during the Slovenian War of Independence
Ten-Day War
The Ten-Day War or the Slovenian Independence War was a military conflict between the Slovenian Territorial Defence and the Yugoslav People's Army in 1991 following Slovenia's declaration of independence.-Background:...
(June-July 1991).
Youth and education
Born as Ivan Janša to a Roman Catholic working-class family of GrosupljeGrosuplje
Grosuplje is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia. It lies just south of the capital Ljubljana in the traditional region of Lower Carniola. It is now included in the Central Slovenia statistical region....
, he was called Janez (a version of the same name, known as John in English) since childhood. His father was a former member of the Slovenian Home Guard from Upper Carniola
Upper Carniola
Upper Carniola is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jesenice, Tržič, Škofja Loka, Kamnik, and Domžale.- Historical background :...
who had escaped Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
retaliation due to his young age. He graduated from the University of Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. With 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in Europe.-Beginnings:...
with a degree in defence studies in 1982, and became a trainee in the Defence Secretariate of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia
Socialist Republic of Slovenia
The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1943 until 1990...
. In his younger years, he was a member of the League of Communists and one of the leaders of its youth wing. He became president of the Committee for Basic People's Defence and Social Self-Protection of the Alliance of Socialist Youth of Slovenia (ZSMS).
Dissident
In 1983, Janša wrote the first of his dissident articles about the nature of the Yugoslav People's ArmyYugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
(JNA). In the late 1980s, as Slovenia was introducing democratic reforms and gradually lifting restrictions on the freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, Janša wrote several articles criticizing the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
in the magazine Mladina
Mladina
Mladina is a Slovenian weekly left-wing current affairs magazine. It was first published in the 1920s as the youth magazine of the Slovenian Communist Party...
(published by Alliance of Socialist Youth of Slovenia). As a result, his re-election as president of the Committee was blocked in 1984, and in 1985 his passport was withdrawn. He said that he made over 250 job applications in the following year without success, and was unable to secure publication of any articles. In this period he earned his living writing computer programs and acting as a mountaineering guide. Liberalisation in the succeeding years allowed him to get work as secretary of the Journal for the Criticism of Science (1986) and later to begin publishing again in Mladina.
He became involved in the pacifist movement, and emerged as an important activist in the network of civil society organizations in Slovenia.
In 1987, Janša was approached by the family of the late politician Stane Kavčič, who had been the most important exponent of the reformist fraction in the Slovenian Communist Party in the late 1960s, and Prime Minister of Slovenia between 1967 and 1972; he was asked to edit the manuscript of Kavčič's diaries. Janša edited the volume together with Igor Bavčar
Igor Bavčar
Igor Bavčar is a Slovenian politician and manager. He rose to prominence during the Slovenian spring, when he served as chairman of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, the largest independent civil society movement in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia...
. The publication of the book was part of the political project of Niko Kavčič, former banker and prominent member of the reformist wing of the Communist Party, to establish a new Slovenian left wing political formation that would challenge the hardliners within the Communist Party.
In the spring of 1988, Janša ran for president of the Alliance of the Socialist Youth of Slovenia, a semi-independent youth organization of the Communist Party, which had been open, since 1986, also to non-party members. In his program, Janša proposed that the organization becomes completely independent from the Communist Party and transforms itself into an association of all youth and civic associations; he also proposed that it renamed itself to "Alliance of Youth Organizations and Movements", and that it assumed the role of the main civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
platform in Slovenia. During the same time, he also actively participated in the public discussions on the constitutional changes of Yugoslav and Slovenian constitution.
On 30 May 1988, he was arrested together with three other Mladina journalists and a staff sergeant of the Yugoslav Army, Ivan Borštner. They were tried in a military court on charges of exposing military secrets, and given prison sentences. The trial was conducted in camera
In camera
In camera is a legal term meaning "in private". It is also sometimes termed in chambers or in curia.In camera describes court cases that the public and press are not admitted to...
, with no legal representation for the accused, and in Serbo-Croat (the official language in the Yugoslav army) rather than in Slovene. Janša was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, initially in the maximum security prison at Dob, but following a public outcry, he was transferred to the open prison of Ig
Ig (Slovenia)
Ig is a settlement and a municipality in central Slovenia. It was formed in 1995 from parts of the municipality of Vič-Rudnik, until then one of the five municipalities that formed the Civic Assembly of Municipalities of Ljubljana. It is part of the traditional region of Inner Carniola and is now...
. The case became known as the JBTZ-trial
JBTZ-trial
The JBTZ trial, also known as the Ljubljana trial or the Trial against the Four was a political trial held in a military court in Slovenia, then part of Yugoslavia in 1988...
and triggered mass protests against the regime, which marked the beginning of the process of democratization, known as the Slovenian Spring. The Committee for the Defence of the Rights of Janez Janša was formed soon after his arrest, which became the largest grassroots civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
organization in Slovenia with over 100,000 members.
Some circumstances surrounding Janša's arrest have never been clarified, especially the role played by the Slovenian Communist leadership. Janša later accused the Slovenian Communist leader Milan Kučan
Milan Kucan
Milan Kučan is a Slovenian politician and statesman. He was the first President of Slovenia.-Early life and political beginnings:...
of having given in to the Yugoslav Army's request for the arrest. Niko Kavčič, who was at that time considered Janša's political mentor, thought that the arrest was organized by the hardliners within the Slovenian Communist Party who were angered by the publication of Stane Kavčič's diaries and wanted to prevent the formation of an alternative reformist movement. The philosopher Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
, who at the time also worked as a columnist for the Mladina magazine, suggested that Janša was arrested because of his critical articles on the Yugoslav Army, and because the Army wanted to prevent his election as president of the Alliance of the Socialist Youth. As a consequence of his arrest, he could not run for the position; nevertheless, the leadership of the organization decided to carry on with the elections despite Janša's arrest. In June 1988, Jožef Školč was elected as president of the Alliance of Socialist Youth instead of Janša. As a protest against the Alliance's decision not to postpone the elections, Janša's broke all relations with the organization.
Janša was released after serving about six months of sentence, and became editor in chief of the Slovene political weekly magazine Demokracija (Democracy). He remained in this position until the elections of May 1990.
Minister of Defence
In 1989, Janša was involved in the founding of one of the first opposition parties in Slovenia, the Slovenian Democratic UnionSlovenian Democratic Union
The Slovenian Democratic Union was a Slovenian liberal political party, active between 1989 and 1991, during the democratization and the secession of the Republic of Slovenia from Yugoslavia....
(SDZ) and became its first vice-president, and later president of the Party Council. Following the first free elections in May 1990 he became the Minister of Defence in Lojze Peterle
Lojze Peterle
Alojz "Lojze" Peterle is a Slovenian politician. He was the leader of the Slovene Christian Democrats from the founding of the party in 1990 until it merged with the Slovenian People's Party in 2000. Between 1990 and 1992, he was the president of the first freely elected Slovenian government, and...
's cabinet, a position he held during the Slovenian war for independence
Ten-Day War
The Ten-Day War or the Slovenian Independence War was a military conflict between the Slovenian Territorial Defence and the Yugoslav People's Army in 1991 following Slovenia's declaration of independence.-Background:...
in June and July 1991. Together with the Minister of Interior Igor Bavčar
Igor Bavčar
Igor Bavčar is a Slovenian politician and manager. He rose to prominence during the Slovenian spring, when he served as chairman of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, the largest independent civil society movement in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia...
, Janša was the main organizer's of Slovenia's defense strategy against the invasion of the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
.
After the breakup of the SDZ in 1992, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia (now called Slovenian Democratic Party
Slovenian Democratic Party
The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party...
) and remained Defence Minister in the center-left coalition government of Janez Drnovšek
Janez Drnovšek
Janez Drnovšek was a Slovenian liberal politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia , Prime Minister of Slovenia and President of Slovenia . He was born in Celje, Slovenia, then the Socialist Republic of Slovenia...
until March 1994. In May 1993, he was elected president of the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia with the support of Jože Pučnik
Jože Pucnik
Jože Pučnik was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, Pučnik was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and lack of civil liberties in former Yugoslavia. He was imprisoned for a total of 7 years, and later...
, the party's previous leader, and was re-elected in 1995, 1999, 2001, 2005 and 2009.
Radical populism
During the 1990s, Janša was noted by political scientists for his radicalPolitical radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, close to demagoguery
Demagogy
Demagogy or demagoguery is a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears, vanities and expectations of the public—typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist, populist or religious themes...
. He was known for his nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and xenophobic
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
rhetoric, including verbal attacks against foreigners, especially from the other former Yugoslav states, and "communists". Rudolf Rizman and Craig Nation have compared Janša with radical right-wing populist leaders of other European countries.
Janša's former friend and fellow dissident Spomenka Hribar
Spomenka Hribar
Spomenka Hribar is a Slovenian author, philosopher, sociologist, politician, columnist, and public intellectual. She was one of the most influential Slovenian intellectuals in the 1980s, and was frequently called "the First Lady of Slovenian Democratic Opposition", and "the Voice of Slovenian...
heavily criticized him in an article for Mladina
Mladina
Mladina is a Slovenian weekly left-wing current affairs magazine. It was first published in the 1920s as the youth magazine of the Slovenian Communist Party...
in 1995. She accused him of extreme nationalism and chauvinism
Chauvinism
Chauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.By extension it has come...
, placing feelings over rationality, and exploiting patriotic emotions among the population. Condemning his irredentist
Irredentism
Irredentism is any position advocating annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. Some of these movements are also called pan-nationalist movements. It is a feature of identity politics and cultural...
claims towards Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, she even went as far as denouncing his policies as obvious neo-fascism
Neo-Fascism
Neo-fascism is a post–World War II ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. The term neo-fascist may apply to groups that express a specific admiration for Benito Mussolini and Italian Fascism or any other fascist leader/state...
.
During the same time, Janez Janša liked to project an image of himself being a victim of a conspiracy by a late communist secret organization called "Udbo-Mafija".
Leader of the opposition
In March 1994, Janša was dismissed by Prime Minister Janez DrnovšekJanez Drnovšek
Janez Drnovšek was a Slovenian liberal politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia , Prime Minister of Slovenia and President of Slovenia . He was born in Celje, Slovenia, then the Socialist Republic of Slovenia...
as a consequence of the so-called Smolnikar affair (also known as Depala Vas affair). The affair began when three military intelligence servicemen allegedly brutally arrested a civilian, hired by the Ministry of the Interior for espionage. Janša was never accused of direct responsibility for this action, but his public defence of the military agents who carried out the arrest provoked an outrage in the left wing sectors of the public opinion. Janša's stance triggered his dismissal and the removal of the Social Democratic Party from the ruling coalition. The official charges against the military servicemen involved were later dismissed, but the issue remains a point of controversy. Janša used the parliamentary debate on his dismissal for a radical criticism of the ruling coalition, including the Prime Minister Drnovšek and President Milan Kučan
Milan Kucan
Milan Kučan is a Slovenian politician and statesman. He was the first President of Slovenia.-Early life and political beginnings:...
, whom he accused of abusing his informal connections for subversive political actions. Janša's dismissal caused a great stir in the public opinion, including mass demonstrations in his support. Already in the local elections in the same year, the Social Democratic Party rose significantly, becoming the main opposition force, and in the 1996 parliamentary elections Janša's party rose from around 3.5% to more than 16%, becoming the third largest political party in the country.
Janša remained the leader of the opposition until 2004, with a short interim between June and November 2000, when he served as Defence Minister in the short-lived centre-right government of Christian democrat
Slovene Christian Democrats
The Slovene Christian Democrats was a Christian Democrat political party in Slovenia between 1989 and 2000.It was founded as the Slovene Christian Social Movement in March of 1989. Its first president was Peter Kovačič Peršin...
Andrej Bajuk
Andrej Bajuk
Andrej Bajuk, also known in Spanish as Andrés Bajuk was a Slovene politician and economist. He served shortly as Prime Minister of Slovenia in the year 2000, and Minister of Economy in the centre right government of Janez Janša between 2004 and 2008...
. Many Slovenians were under the impression that Janša was more influential in this government than Prime Minister Bajuk. During this time he introduced chaplains
Military chaplain
A military chaplain is a chaplain who ministers to soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and other members of the military. In many countries, chaplains also minister to the family members of military personnel, to civilian noncombatants working for military organizations and to civilians within the...
to the armed forces. Ahead of the 2004 electoral campaign, Janša turned towards moderation, tempering his radical language and attacks against alleged communists. Still, his harsh nationalistic rhetoric against immigrants from the South could be perceived.
Prime Minister
Following the victory of the Slovenian Democratic Party and its allies in the general election of 2004, Janša was appointed by President Drnovšek to form a new government on 3 November 2004. Six days later, he was elected Prime Minister of Slovenia by the National Assembly, polling the votes of 57 of the 90 members. His cabinet was approved by the Parliament on 3 December the same year. Sociologist Rudolf Rizman has identified elements of authoritarianismAuthoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
, populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, and nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
in Prime Minister Janša's political style.
After the landslide victory of the opposition candidate Danilo Türk
Danilo Türk
- Early life :Türk was born in a lower middle class family in Maribor, Slovenia . His father died when he was a child. He attended the prestigious II. Gymnasium High school in Maribor. In 1971 he enrolled to the University of Ljubljana where he studied law...
in the 2007 presidential election
Slovenian presidential election, 2007
The 2007 Slovenian presidential election was held in order to elect the successor to the second President of Slovenia Janez Drnovšek for a five-year term...
, Janša filed a Motion of Confidence in the government on 15 November 2007, stating that the opposition's criticism was interfering with the government's work, contrary to the previous agreement between the parliamentary parties, in which the opposition agreed not to undermine the government's work during Slovenia's presidency over the European Union
Presidency of the Council of the European Union
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union that rotates between the member states of the European Union every six months. The presidency is not a single president but rather the task is undertaken by a national...
. The government won the vote, held on November 19, with 51 votes supporting it and 33 opposing it. In the speech delivered after the vote, Janša announced, among other, an intensification of the fight against financial criminality and the illegal concentration of capital in the hands of single powerful managers, to whom he referred as tycoons
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
. In the following months, the Slovenian police and public prosecution launched a full scale investigation against some of the biggest companies in the country, namely against the Laško Brewery
Laško Brewery
Laško Brewery is a brewery in the Slovenian town of Laško and the largest brewery of the country.The brewery was founded in 1825 by Franz Geyer, a gingerbread baker and mead producer. After World War II ended in 1945, Laško was the fifth-largest in Yugoslavia...
Concern.
After the Elections 2008
On September 1, 2008, some three weeks before the Slovenian parliamentary electionsSlovenian parliamentary election, 2008
Parliamentary elections for the 90 deputies to the National Assembly of Slovenia were held on 21 September 2008. 17 parties filed to run in the election, including all nine parliamentary parties...
, allegations were made in Finnish TV in a documentary broadcast by the Finnish national broadcasting company YLE that Janša had received bribes from the Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
defense company Patria
Patria (company)
Patria is a Finnish company which produces a wide range of defence, aviation and aerospace technology. It carries on the firearms tradition of Valtion Kivääritehdas and the aerospace tradition of Valtion lentokonetehdas.-Patria Aviation:* NH90* Mini-UAVs...
(73.2 % of which is the property of the Finnish government) in the so-called Patria case
Patria case
The Patria case has been the political controversy over the unproven claims of bribery of Slovenian officials by the Finnish company Patria to help clinch an armoured personnel carrier order. There is currently a criminal investigation underway, and two employees of Patria have been arrested on...
. Janša rejected all accusations as a media conspiracy concocted by left-wing Slovenian journalists, and asked YLE to provide evidence or to retract the story. Janša's naming of individual journalists, including some of those behind the 2007 Petition Against Political Pressure on Slovenian Journalists, and the perceived use of diplomatic channels in an attempt to coerce the Finnish government into interfering with YLE editorial policy, drew criticism from media freedom organisations such as the International Press Institute
International Press Institute
International Press Institute is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. Founded in October 1950, the IPI has members in over 120 countries....
.
As yet, YLE has declined to broadcast a retraction or to reveal its sources , because criminal investigation by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation is still underway.
In the elections, the Slovenian Democratic Party lost to the left wing coalition. In November 2008, he was replaced as Prime Minister by the Social Democrat
Social Democrats (Slovenia)
The Social Democrats is a centre-left political party in Slovenia, currently led by Borut Pahor. From 1993 until 2005, the party was known as the United List of Social Democrats .-Origins:...
leader Borut Pahor
Borut Pahor
Borut Pahor is a Slovenian politician who has been Prime Minister of Slovenia since 2008. A longtime president of the Social Democrats party, Pahor served several terms as a member of the National Assembly and was its chairman from 2000 to 2004. In 2004, Pahor was elected as member of the European...
.
Janša has published several books, the two of which are Premiki ("Manoeuvres", published in 1992 and subsequently translated into English under the title "The Making of the Slovenian State") and Okopi ("Barricades", 1994), in which he exposes his views on the problems of Slovenia's transition from Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
to a parliamentary democracy. In both books, but particularly in Okopi, Janša criticized the then president of Slovenia Milan Kučan
Milan Kucan
Milan Kučan is a Slovenian politician and statesman. He was the first President of Slovenia.-Early life and political beginnings:...
of interfering in daily politics using the informal influence he had gained as the last chairman of the Communist Party of Slovenia.
Janša's Government 2004–2008
| Prime Minister Prime Minister of Slovenia There have been six Prime Ministers of Slovenia since that country gained its independence in the breakup of Yugoslavia. Unlike the President of Slovenia, who is directly elected, the Prime Minister is appointed by the National Assembly, and must control a majority there in order to... |
|
| Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Dimitrij Rupel Dimitrij Rupel is a Slovenian politician.- Biography :Rupel was born in Ljubljana, in what was then the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, into a bourgeois family of former anti-fascist political emigrants from the Julian March .After receiving a bachelor's degree in comparative literature and... (Independent) |
| Minister of Justice |
Lovro Šturm Lovro Šturm is a Slovenian jurist and politician. Between 2004 and 2008, he served as the Minister of Justice of Slovenia. He was succeeded by Aleš Zalar.- Biography :... (New Slovenia New Slovenia The New Slovenia – Christian People's Party or simply New Slovenia, NSi is a Christian democratic political party in Slovenia... ) |
| Minister of Defence |
Karl Erjavec Karl Viktor Erjavec is a Slovenian lawyer and politician. Since 2005, he has been the president of the Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia. From 21 November 2008 until 26 January 2010, Erjavec held the position of the Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning in the government of... (DeSUS) |
| Minister of Finance |
Andrej Bajuk Andrej Bajuk, also known in Spanish as Andrés Bajuk was a Slovene politician and economist. He served shortly as Prime Minister of Slovenia in the year 2000, and Minister of Economy in the centre right government of Janez Janša between 2004 and 2008... (New Slovenia New Slovenia The New Slovenia – Christian People's Party or simply New Slovenia, NSi is a Christian democratic political party in Slovenia... ) |
| Minister of Interior |
Dragutin Mate Dragutin Mate is a Slovenian diplomat and politician. Between 2004 and 2008 he served as Minister of Interior in the centre-right government led by Janez Janša.... (Slovenian Democratic Party Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party... ) |
| Minister of Education |
Milan Zver Milan Zver is a Slovenian politician, sociologist and political scientist. He currently serves as vice-president of the Slovenian Democratic Party. Between 2004 and 2008, he was Minister for Education and Sports in Janez Janša's centre right government... (Slovenian Democratic Party Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party... ) |
| Minister of Higher Education |
Jure Zupan Jure Zupan is a Slovenian physicist and founder of chemomectrics research in Slovenia. He is one of the leading authorities in applications and development ofartificial neural networks in chemistry.- Studies :... (New Slovenia New Slovenia The New Slovenia – Christian People's Party or simply New Slovenia, NSi is a Christian democratic political party in Slovenia... ) New Slovenia The New Slovenia – Christian People's Party or simply New Slovenia, NSi is a Christian democratic political party in Slovenia... ) |
| Minister of Culture Minister of culture A culture minister is a Cabinet position in some governments responsible for protecting the national heritage of a country and promoting cultural expression.... |
Vasko Simoniti Vasko Simoniti is a Slovenian historian and politician. Between 2004 and 2008, he served as the Minister of Culture of Slovenia... (Slovenian Democratic Party Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party... ) |
| Minister of Social Affairs |
New Slovenia The New Slovenia – Christian People's Party or simply New Slovenia, NSi is a Christian democratic political party in Slovenia... ) New Slovenia The New Slovenia – Christian People's Party or simply New Slovenia, NSi is a Christian democratic political party in Slovenia... ) |
| Minister of Health |
Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party... ) Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party... ) |
| Minister of Economy |
Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party... ) |
| Minister of Agriculture |
Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party... ) Iztok Jarc Iztok Jarc is a Slovenian diplomat and politician. From 2007 to 2008 he served as Minister of Agriculture of Slovenia. He is currently the ambassador of Slovenia in the United Kingdom.- Early life and career :... (Slovenian Democratic Party Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party... ) |
| Minister of Environment |
Janez Podobnik Janez Podobnik is a Slovenian conservative politician.He was born in the small town of Cerkno in western Slovenia, in what was then the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He studied medicine at the University of Ljubljana, where he graduated in 1984... (Slovenian People's Party Slovenian People's Party The Slovenian People's Party is a rural-based conservative political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first non-Communist political organization in Yugoslavia, it merged with the Slovene Christian Democrats to form the present-day party in 2000... ) |
| Minister of Transport |
Slovenian People's Party The Slovenian People's Party is a rural-based conservative political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first non-Communist political organization in Yugoslavia, it merged with the Slovene Christian Democrats to form the present-day party in 2000... ) Radovan Žerjav Radovan Žerjav is a Slovenian conservative politician. Between 2007 and 2008 he served as Minister of Transport. Since 2009, he has been the Chairman of the Slovenian People's Party.... (Slovenian People's Party Slovenian People's Party The Slovenian People's Party is a rural-based conservative political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first non-Communist political organization in Yugoslavia, it merged with the Slovene Christian Democrats to form the present-day party in 2000... ) |
| Minister of Public Administration |
Gregor Virant Gregor Virant is a Slovenian politician and public servant. He is heading the Gregor Virant's Civic List, a liberal political party, established in October 2011, as a civic list to compete on the 2011 Slovenian parliamentary election.... (Independent) |
| Minister without portfolio Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry... for Local Autonomies and Regional Development |
Slovenian People's Party The Slovenian People's Party is a rural-based conservative political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first non-Communist political organization in Yugoslavia, it merged with the Slovene Christian Democrats to form the present-day party in 2000... ) |
| Minister without portfolio Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry... for Economic Development |
Social Democrats (Slovenia) The Social Democrats is a centre-left political party in Slovenia, currently led by Borut Pahor. From 1993 until 2005, the party was known as the United List of Social Democrats .-Origins:... ) Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party... ) |
Personal life
Janša is an active mountaineerMountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er, footballer, skier
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and snowboard
Snowboard
Snowboards are boards, usually with a width the length of one's foot, with the ability to glide on snow. Snowboards are differentiated from monoskis by the stance of the user...
er. Apart from his native Slovene, he is fluent in Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Since July 2009, Janša has been married to the doctor of medicine Urška Bačovnik from Velenje
Velenje
Velenje is a town and municipality in northern Slovenia. The municipality has 33.331 inhabitants. Staro Velenje is first mentioned in written doucments dating to 1264 and 1374 as small market town and was a center of handicraft and trade...
. The two were dating since 2006. In august 2011, their first child, Črtomir, was born.
Before his marriage with Urška Bačovnik, Janša was in a long-term relationship with Silva Predalič, who bore him two children, son Žan and daughter Nika, both whom are currently students.
Books
- Podružbljanje varnosti in obrambe ('The Socialization of Security and Defence', editor); Ljubljana: Republiška konferenca ZSMS, 1984.
- Stane Kavčič, Dnevnik in spomini ('The Memoirs of Stane Kavčič', co-edited with Igor BavčarIgor BavčarIgor Bavčar is a Slovenian politician and manager. He rose to prominence during the Slovenian spring, when he served as chairman of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, the largest independent civil society movement in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia...
); Ljubljana: ČKZ, 1988. - Na svoji strani ('On One's Own Side', collection of articles); Ljubljana: ČKZ, 1988.
- Premiki: nastajanje in obramba slovenske države 1988-1992; Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1992. English translation: The Making of the Slovenian State, 1988-1992: the Collapse of Yugoslavia; Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1994.
- Okopi: pot slovenske države 1991-1994 ('Trenches: the Evolution of the Slovenian State, 1991-1994'); Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1994.
- Sedem let pozneje ('Seven Years Later'). Ljubljana: Založba Karantanija, 1994.
- Osem let pozneje ('Eight Years Later', co-authored with Ivan Borštner and David Tasić); Ljubljana: Založba Karantanija, 1995.
External links
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