Danilo Türk
Danilo Türk | |
---|---|
3rd President of Slovenia | |
In office 23 December 2007 – 22 December 2012 | |
Prime Minister | Janez Janša Borut Pahor Janez Janša |
Preceded by | Janez Drnovšek |
Succeeded by | Borut Pahor |
Ambassador of Slovenia to the United Nations | |
In office September 1992 – February 2000 | |
President | Milan Kučan |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Ernest Petrič |
Personal details | |
Born | Maribor, PR Slovenia, FPR Yugoslavia | 19 February 1952
Political party | Independent |
Spouse | Barbara Miklič |
Children | 1 |
Alma mater | University of Ljubljana University of Belgrade |
Website | Official website |
Danilo Türk (pronounced [daˈníːlɔ ˈtýɾk]; born 19 February 1952) is a Slovenian diplomat, professor of international law, human rights expert, and political figure who served as President of Slovenia from 2007 to 2012. He was the first Slovene ambassador to the United Nations, from 1992 to 2000, and was the UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs from 2000 to 2005.
Türk is a visiting professor of international law at
In 2016, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Early life
Türk was born in a lower-middle-class family in
Between 1986 and 1992, he served in a personal capacity as a member the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and was the UN Special Rapporteur on the Realization of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Together with Louis Joinet (France), he was also the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. In 1987 he initiated the establishment of the Council for Human Rights in Slovenia and served until 1992 as the council’s vice-chairman. In 1990/91 he coauthored the human rights chapter in Slovenia's constitution.
Diplomatic and academic career
From 1992 to 2000, Türk was the first Slovene Permanent Representative to the
In 2019, Türk was elected president of the Club of Madrid.[3]
Presidency
In June 2007, Türk ran in the Slovene presidential election. As an independent candidate, he was backed by a broad coalition of left-wing parties, composed of the opposition Zares party and Social Democrats, the Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia, and the extra-parliamentary Christian Socialist Party and Democratic Party. In the first round of the presidential elections, held on 21 October 2007, he placed second with 24.54% of the votes, which brought him into the runoff against the centre right candidate Lojze Peterle (who received 28.50% of the popular vote). He won the runoff on 11 November 2007 with 68.2% of the votes,[2] becoming the third president of Slovenia on December 23, 2007. Türk ran for reelection in 2012, but lost the election to Borut Pahor in a second round of voting, held on 2 December 2012.[5] He received roughly one-third of the votes.[4]
UN Secretary-General candidature
In December 2013, Türk announced that he was planning to run for
Türk is an experienced member of the United Nations community. He served as the first Permanent Representative of the Republic of Slovenia to the UN and remained in New York as ambassador for eight years, from 1992 until 2000. As Slovenian representative he also presided over the United Nations Security Council twice. His work was recognised by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who chose Türk as one of his close advisors and appointed him Assistant Secretary-General in 2000. He served in this position until 2005, when he returned to Slovenia to teach international law at the University of Ljubljana.
Türk has long been recognised as an expert and global advocate for human rights and his work has been connected with human rights and the fight for equality for more than 40 years.
One element of human rights that Turk has been questioned about is the UN's role in the
37 human rights organizations recently signed onto a UN Secretary General accountability pledge. This pledge asks the candidates to take action on two human rights violations that have tarnished the United Nations' image: failing to provide remedies for victims of cholera in Haiti, and sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers.[8] Türk issued a statement responding to Aids Free World and the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, expressing his support for the organizations' efforts.[9] While he acknowledges that he has "clearly expressed [his] commitment to fairness towards the victims of cholera in Haiti and for substantial, credible and speedy investigations of the cases of sexual abuse committed by peacekeepers", he cannot undertake formal pledges.[9] Nevertheless, he reaffirms his commitment to better UN accountability and says "it is abundantly clear where my heart is."[9]
Later career
In 2022, Türk was appointed by
Personal life
Türk has been married to Barbara Miklič since 1976. They have one daughter and one granddaughter. He is the brother of the manager Vitoslav Türk, member of the Slovenian Democratic Party.[11][12] Türk speaks Slovene, English, French, Croatian, and Serbian.[citation needed]
Health
In March 2011, Türk successfully underwent
Honors and awards
- Albania: Received a copy of the key of the city of Tirana on the occasion of his state visit to Albania.[13]
- Austria: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (2011)[14]
- Azerbaijan: Ilyas Afandiyev International Prize (2010)
- Colombia: Received a copy of the key of the city of Bogota (2008)
- European Union: European Court of Auditors Medal (2012)
- Finland: Commander, First Class, Order of the White Rose of Finland (2010)
- Hungary: Gold medal of the Széchenyi Scientific Society (2008)
- Hungary: Honorary Doctorate, University of Szeged (2010)
- Hungary: Honorary Doctorate, Corvinus University of Budapest (2015)
- Iceland: Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Falcon (2011)
- Italy: Knight Grand Cross with Cordon, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2011)
- Kazakhstan: Honorary Professor of the Academy of Public Administration, Astana (2009)
- Order of Saint-Charles (11 January 2011) [15]
- Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav(2011)
- Peru: Grand Cross with Diamonds, Order of the Sun of Peru (2008)
- Russia: Honorary Doctorate, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (2012)
- Ukraine: Honorary Doctorate, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (2011)
- United Kingdom: Received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath by Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Slovenia in 2008.[16]
- United States of America: Arthur J. Goldberg Award, Touro Law College (2008)
- Protector of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (2008)
References
- ^ a b c d e f Turner, Barry (2009). The Statesman's Yearbook 2010: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 1118.
- ^ Time: Almanac 2009. Chicago: Time Home Entertainment. 2008. p. 72.
- ^ "Danilo Türk becomes the new President of Club de Madrid". World Leadership Alliance - Club de Madrid (Press release) (in Spanish). 1 January 2020.
- ^ "Pahor : Türk 67,44% : 32,56%. Nizka udeležba, 2% neveljavnih glasovnic. :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija". Rtvslo.si. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
- ^ "Advocacy Cholera Accountability". Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ "U.N. Strives for Transparency in Picking New Secretary General". The New York Times. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Danilo Türk (Slovenia) - Informal dialogue for the position of the next UN Secretary-General". Retrieved 23 August 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "UN Accountability Pledge". 28 July 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ a b c "www.en.fundacija-danilaturka.org - Improving accountability of the United Nations". Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism Comprises 12 Eminent Current or Former Global Leaders, Officials, Experts United Nations, press release of 18 March 2022
- ^ Avtor: T. L. (4 November 2011). "Brat predsednika republike kandidira na listi SDS" (in Slovenian). Slovenskenovice.si. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ^ "Uganka ministrski kandidati SDS". Delo.si. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ^ Received a copy of the key of the city of Tirana Archived 6 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour" (PDF) (in German). p. 1923. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ Nomination by Sovereign Ordonnance n°3076 of 11 January 2011 (French)
- ^ "Queen begins Slovenia state visit". BBC. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2012.