Pavel Gantar
Encyclopedia
Pavel Gantar, also known as Pavle Gantar (born 26 October 1949) is a Slovenia
n politician
and sociologist.
Gantar was born in the Upper Carniola
n village of Gorenja vas
near Škofja Loka
, Slovenia, in what was then Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
. After finishing a professional school for carpentry
, he decided to enroll to the university. After passing the entry exams, he was accepted by the Faculty for Political Sciences at the University of Ljubljana
, where he studied sociology
. During his student years, Gantar was actively involved in student activities. In 1971, he was among the co-founder of the radical alternative student group November 13th, which included among other the famous philosopher Mladen Dolar
. After graduatring in 1974, he became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana. In 1976, he joined the editorial board of the Journal for the Critique of Science (Časopis za kritiko znanosti, ČKZ), together with people like Mladen Dolar, Slavoj Žižek
, and Rado Riha
.
In 1984, he studied at the University of Essex
, where he became acquainted with the liberal critique of Marxism
. He became interested in the classical liberal thought and was especially influenced by the works of the Slovene-born British liberal economist Ljubo Sirc
, who strongly criticized the Yugoslav economic model. Upon returning to Ljubljana
, he was appointed as the chairman of the Communist Party
cell at the Faculty of Social Sciences. In 1985, he used this position to defend the essayist Spomenka Hribar
, who was accused of denigration of the Yugoslav People's Liberation War because an essay in which she publicly denounced the mass killings of the Slovene Home Guard after World War Two. Because of this stand, Gantar was expelled from the Communist Party of Slovenia.
In the late 1980s, he was among the first scholars of contemporary underground social movements in Slovenia and Yugoslavia, together with Frane Adam and Gregor Tomc
. He was actively involved in the so-called Slovenian Spring, the mass movement that brought to the democratization and independence of Slovenia. He was among the first to denounce the arrest of four journalist in the JBTZ-trial
and was member of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights
, the central platform that led the democratization process in Slovenia between 1988 and 1990.
In 1989, he obtained his PhD in sociology at the University of Zagreb
. In 1990, he joined the Liberal Democratic Party
. The same year, he was elected to the Parliament of Slovenia in the first free elections held in Slovenia after WWII.
Between 1994 and 2000, he served as the Minister of Environment in the cabinet of Janez Drnovšek
. In 2001, he became the Minister of Information Society in the last cabinet led by Janez Drnovšek and later by Anton Rop
.
In 2004, the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia
was defeated by the centre-right Slovenian Democratic Party
. Nevertheless, Gantar was elected to the National Assembly of Slovenia, where he served as an opposition MP until 2008. In 2007, he joined the newly formed social liberal Zares
party led by Gregor Golobič
. In 2008, he was re-elected to the Lower House of the Slovenian Parliament. Soon afterwards, he was elected as its chairman, succeeding France Cukjati
.
Following the exit of the party Zares from the ruling coalition, Gantar resigned from his position in September 2011 and was succeded by Ljubo Germič
.
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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and sociologist.
Gantar was born in the 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 :...
n village of Gorenja vas
Gorenja vas - Retece
Gorenja vas – Reteče is a village on the left bank of the River Sora in the Škofja Loka municipality in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.- External links :*...
near Škofja Loka
Škofja Loka
-Art colony:Before the civil war in the former Yugoslavia the Serbian town of Smederevska Palanka and the town of Škofja Loka held art colonies Groharijeva kolonija run by an art teacher from elementary school Olga Milošević in Smederevska Palanka. Now, after the split of SFR Yugoslavia, the two...
, Slovenia, in what was then Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
. After finishing a professional school for carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, he decided to enroll to the university. After passing the entry exams, he was accepted by the Faculty for Political Sciences at 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:...
, where he studied sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. During his student years, Gantar was actively involved in student activities. In 1971, he was among the co-founder of the radical alternative student group November 13th, which included among other the famous philosopher Mladen Dolar
Mladen Dolar
Mladen Dolar is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist, film critic and expert in psychoanalysis.Dolar was born in Maribor as the son of the literary critic Jaro Dolar. In 1978 he graduated in Philosophy and French language at the University of Ljubljana, where he graduated under the...
. After graduatring in 1974, he became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana. In 1976, he joined the editorial board of the Journal for the Critique of Science (Časopis za kritiko znanosti, ČKZ), together with people like Mladen Dolar, 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....
, and Rado Riha
Rado Riha
Rado Riha is a Slovenian philosopher. He is a senior research fellow and currently the head of the , Centre for Scientific Research at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and coordinator of the philosophy module at the post-graduate study programme of the University of Nova Gorica.Born in...
.
In 1984, he studied at the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
, where he became acquainted with the liberal critique of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
. He became interested in the classical liberal thought and was especially influenced by the works of the Slovene-born British liberal economist Ljubo Sirc
Ljubo Sirc
Ljubo Sirc CBE is a British-Slovene economist and prominent dissident from the former Yugoslavia.-Life and work:He was born in Kranj, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in a wealthy and renowned family of Slovene and Yugoslav patriots...
, who strongly criticized the Yugoslav economic model. Upon returning to Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, he was appointed as the chairman of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
cell at the Faculty of Social Sciences. In 1985, he used this position to defend the essayist 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...
, who was accused of denigration of the Yugoslav People's Liberation War because an essay in which she publicly denounced the mass killings of the Slovene Home Guard after World War Two. Because of this stand, Gantar was expelled from the Communist Party of Slovenia.
In the late 1980s, he was among the first scholars of contemporary underground social movements in Slovenia and Yugoslavia, together with Frane Adam and Gregor Tomc
Gregor Tomc
Gregor Tomc also known as Grega Tomc is a Slovenian sociologist, musician and activist. In the late 1970s and 1980s, he was the founder and member of the famous Slovenian punk rock band Pankrti.- Biography :...
. He was actively involved in the so-called Slovenian Spring, the mass movement that brought to the democratization and independence of Slovenia. He was among the first to denounce the arrest of four journalist in 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 was member of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights was a civil society organization in Slovenia, which functioned during the so-called Slovenian Spring between 1988 and 1990....
, the central platform that led the democratization process in Slovenia between 1988 and 1990.
In 1989, he obtained his PhD in sociology at the University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
. In 1990, he joined the Liberal Democratic Party
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia is a liberal political party in Slovenia. It is led by Katarina Kresal and is a member of the Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party...
. The same year, he was elected to the Parliament of Slovenia in the first free elections held in Slovenia after WWII.
Between 1994 and 2000, he served as the Minister of Environment in the cabinet 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...
. In 2001, he became the Minister of Information Society in the last cabinet led by Janez Drnovšek and later by Anton Rop
Anton Rop
Anton Rop is a Slovenian politician. He is currently a member of the National Assembly of Slovenia. He was the fourth Prime Minister of Slovenia, from 2002 to 2004. Until 2005 he was also the president of the Liberal Democratic Party , the legal successor of the Slovenian Association of Socialist...
.
In 2004, the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia
Liberal Democracy of Slovenia is a liberal political party in Slovenia. It is led by Katarina Kresal and is a member of the Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party...
was defeated by the centre-right 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...
. Nevertheless, Gantar was elected to the National Assembly of Slovenia, where he served as an opposition MP until 2008. In 2007, he joined the newly formed social liberal Zares
Zares
Zares – Social Liberals is a social-liberal political party in Slovenia. Its president is Gregor Golobič, former Secretary General of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia and former close advisor to the late Janez Drnovšek, who had previously abandoned active political involvement due to...
party led by Gregor Golobič
Gregor Golobic
Gregor Golobič is a Slovenian politician. Since 2007, he has been serving as president of the left liberal party Zares. Between November 2008 and June 2011, he served as Minister for Science and Higher Education of Slovenia....
. In 2008, he was re-elected to the Lower House of the Slovenian Parliament. Soon afterwards, he was elected as its chairman, succeeding France Cukjati
France Cukjati
France Cukjati is a Slovenian politician, physician, theologian and a former Jesuit. He currently serves as the vice-chairman of the National Assembly of Slovenia....
.
Following the exit of the party Zares from the ruling coalition, Gantar resigned from his position in September 2011 and was succeded by Ljubo Germič
Ljubo Germic
Ljubo Germič is a Slovenian politician and a member of the Slovenian National Assembly. After the resignation of Pavel Gantar, Germič was elected president of the National Assembly on September 2, 2011....
.