Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Slovenia)

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Slovene: Ministrstvo za zunanje in evropske zadeve; MZEZ) of the Republic of Slovenia is an executive department of the Government of Slovenia responsible for relations with other countries and international organisations, monitoring of the international political and economic situation, and strengthening of Slovenia's relations with other countries and international organisations.

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia

Ministrstvo za zunanje in evropske zadeve
Coat of arms of Slovenia
Agency overview
Formed	1991
Jurisdiction	Government of Slovenia
Headquarters	Mladika Building, Ljubljana
Agency executive	Tanja Fajon, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs
Website	http://www.mzz.gov.si/en

The ministry headquarters is located at 25 Prešeren Street in the capital city of Ljubljana. Prior to 24 January 2023, the ministry was named the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve).

The current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tanja Fajon, has served since 1 June 2022.

The current name of the Ministry has been used since 24 January 2023, prior to which it was called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (abbreviated MZZ).^[1]

Organisation

Executive

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry is Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is a member of the Cabinet and answers to the Prime Minister and the National Assembly. Current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Tanja Fajon of Social Democrats.

Minister is assisted by two State Secretaries, one of which is usually responsible for EU Affairs. Current State Secretaries are Gašper Dovžan (responsible for EU Affairs) and Stanislav Raščan (responsible for development and other affairs). While the minister is a typical political position, State Secretaries are usually chosen among career diplomats within the ministry.

Internal service

The ministry consists of the Minister's Cabinet, Secretariat, and five political directorates. Head of Cabinet is Mihael Zupančič. Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General Ambassador Jožef Drofenik.

Directorates and departments within them are:

• Directorate for Common Foreign and Security Policy (Director-General and Political Director Jernej Müller);
  • Department for Security Policy
  • Department for Strategic Studies and Analyses
  • Department for North and Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Department for Africa and the Middle East
  • Department for Asia and Oceania
  • Department for Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, Central Asia and the Arctic
  • Department for Enlargement and South-Eastern Europe
  • Department for the Bled Strategic Forum
• Directorate for European Union Affairs (Director-General Ambassador Barbara Sušnik);
  • Department for European Affairs
  • Department for European Countries
  • Department for General and Institutional Affairs
  • Department for Neighbouring Countries
• Directorate for Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation (Acting Director-General Igor Jukič);
  • Department for International Organisations
  • Human Rights Department
  • Department for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance
• Directorate for Economic and Public Diplomacy (Acting Director-General Slobodan Šešum); and
  • Department for Bilateral Economic Cooperation I
  • Department for Bilateral Economic Cooperation II
  • Department for Public Diplomacy and International Cooperation in Culture
• Directorate for International Law and Protection of Interests (Director-General Marko Rakovec).
  • International Law Department
  • Diplomatic Protocol
  • Consular Department
  • Department for Borders and Succession Issues

Cabinet of the Minister consists of:

• Strategic Communication Service
• Service for Cooperation with the Government and the National Assembly
• Internal Audit Service
• Diplomatic Supervisor
• Diplomatic academy

Secretariat consists of:

• Information Technology Service
• Personnel Service
• Accounting and Finance Service
• Documentation and Classified Information Service
• Legal Affairs And Public Procurement Service
• Property Management Service
• Logistics and Security Service

External service

Slovenia operates several diplomatic representations and consular posts. There are 42 embassies (one of them non-residential), 7 permanent missions to international organizations, 5 Consulates General, 1 representative office, and 3 consulates. Slovenia also has several honorary consuls.

The Mladika Complex (in the back) houses part of the offices of the Ministry. In front of it stands the villa of the Austrian Embassy in Ljubljana.

Ministers

Image	Minister	Start of term	End of term
	Dimitrij Rupel	May 1990	January 1993
	Lojze Peterle	January 25, 1993	October 31, 1994
	Zoran Thaler	26 January 1995	16 May 1996
	Davorin Kračun	July 19, 1996	January 1997
	Zoran Thaler	February 27, 1997	September 25, 1997
	Boris Frlec	January 1998	January 21, 2000
	Dimitrij Rupel	February 2, 2000	May 2000
	Lojze Peterle	June 7, 2000	November 30, 2000
	Dimitrij Rupel	December 2000	July 2004
	Ivo Vajgl	July 6, 2004	December 3, 2004
	Dimitrij Rupel	December 3, 2004	October 2008
	Samuel Žbogar	November 2008	February 2012
	Karl Erjavec	February 2012	September 2018
	Miro Cerar	September 2018	March 2020
	Anže Logar	March 2020	June 2022
	Tanja Fajon	June 2022

See also

• Foreign relations of Slovenia

References

1. "Kaj prinaša nov Zakon o Vladi Republike Slovenije | GOV.SI" [What the New Law on the Government of the Republic of Slovenia Brings | GOV.SI]. Portal GOV.SI (in Slovenian). Retrieved 2023-01-24.

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