Mihael Brejc
Encyclopedia
Mihael Brejc, also known as Miha Brejc (born 15 November 1947) is a Slovenia
n politician
and former Member of the European Parliament
. He is a member of the Slovenian Democratic Party
.
In 2004, Brejc was elected to the European Parliament
. He was part of the European People's Party
parliamentary group and served as member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. He was also vice-chairman of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, a substitute for the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, member of the delegation for relations with South Africa
, and a substitute for the delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
.
, Serbia
, Yugoslavia
. His father was Tomo Brejc, an influential antifascist left-wing trade union
ist who had emigrated from the Julian March
to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
in the 1920s and fought as a partisan
in the Yugoslav People's Liberation War. The family moved back to Slovenia
when Miha Brejc was still a child. He studied at the University of Ljubljana
, where he graduated in sociology
in 1975. He continued his studies at the same university, obtaining a master's degree in 1983 and a PhD
in organisational sciences in 1985. He worked at the University of Ljubljana
since 1988, first as a senior lecturer and later as a professor.
After the victory of the DEMOS coalition at the first democratic elections in 1990, Brejc was appointed Director of the Slovenian Security and Intelligence Service. He carried out the difficult task of democratization and pluralization of an institution that had served as one of the columns of political oppression during Communist times. In 1992, he joined the Social Democratic Partyof Slovenia
. In 1993, he was dismissed as director of the Security Agency by the then Prime Minister
Janez Drnovšek
, and returned to the academia.
From 1994 to 1998 he was actively involved in local politics as the Chairman of the Municipal Council of Domžale
. During the same period, he also served as the Dean of the High School for Public Administration of the University of Ljubljana
. During this time, he advanced several proposals for the reform and modernization of the public administration
system in Slovenia.
In 1995 he was elected Vice-President of Social Democratic Party of Slovenia
. In 2000, he became the Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs in the short-lived centre-right government led by Andrej Bajuk
. In 2000, he was elected to the Slovenian Parliament
and from 2000 to 2004 he served as Vice-President of the National Assembly of Slovenia.
He is also the chairman of the Slovenia-Taiwan
Friendship Association.
His older brother, Tomaž Brejc, is a renowned art critic
. His son, Tomo Brejc is a famous photographer and his son-in-law, Gregor Virant
was the Minister for Public Administration in Janez Janša
's government and is currently leader of a cenral liberal politic party (the Gregor Virant's civic list) .
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 former Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
. He is a member 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...
.
In 2004, Brejc was elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. He was part of the European People's Party
European People's Party
The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...
parliamentary group and served as member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. He was also vice-chairman of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, a substitute for the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, member of the delegation for relations with South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and a substitute for the delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states that have signed the Cotonou Agreement.Since the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union...
.
Biography
Miha Brejc was born to a Slovene family in BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. His father was Tomo Brejc, an influential antifascist left-wing trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist who had emigrated from the Julian March
Julian March
The Julian March is a former political region of southeastern Europe on what are now the borders between Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy...
to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
in the 1920s and fought as a partisan
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
in the Yugoslav People's Liberation War. The family moved back to Slovenia
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...
when Miha Brejc was still a child. He studied 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 graduated in 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...
in 1975. He continued his studies at the same university, obtaining a master's degree in 1983 and a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in organisational sciences in 1985. He worked 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:...
since 1988, first as a senior lecturer and later as a professor.
After the victory of the DEMOS coalition at the first democratic elections in 1990, Brejc was appointed Director of the Slovenian Security and Intelligence Service. He carried out the difficult task of democratization and pluralization of an institution that had served as one of the columns of political oppression during Communist times. In 1992, he joined the Social Democratic Partyof Slovenia
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...
. In 1993, he was dismissed as director of the Security Agency by the then 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...
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...
, and returned to the academia.
From 1994 to 1998 he was actively involved in local politics as the Chairman of the Municipal Council of Domžale
Domžale
Domžale is a municipality and city Slovenia. Domžale is known today for its flourishing small businesses, agriculture, and light industry . It is the site of the renaissance Krumperk Castle...
. During the same period, he also served as the Dean of the High School for Public Administration of 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:...
. During this time, he advanced several proposals for the reform and modernization of the public administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
system in Slovenia.
In 1995 he was elected Vice-President of Social Democratic Party of Slovenia
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...
. In 2000, he became the Minister of Labour, Family and Social Affairs in the short-lived centre-right government led by 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...
. In 2000, he was elected to the Slovenian Parliament
Slovenian Parliament
The Slovenian Parliament is the informal designation of the general representative body of the Slovenian nation and the legislative body of the Republic of Slovenia....
and from 2000 to 2004 he served as Vice-President of the National Assembly of Slovenia.
He is also the chairman of the Slovenia-Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
Friendship Association.
His older brother, Tomaž Brejc, is a renowned art critic
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
. His son, Tomo Brejc is a famous photographer and his son-in-law, Gregor Virant
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....
was the Minister for Public Administration in Janez Janša
Janez Janša
Janez Janša is a Slovenian 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...
's government and is currently leader of a cenral liberal politic party (the Gregor Virant's civic list) .