Božo Cerar
Božo Cerar is a Slovenian diplomat.
Cerar was born on October 16, 1949, in Ljubljana, PR Slovenia, to Ivan and Joža Cerar. He attended primary school in Dolsko and Ljubljana-Polje and graduated from Ljubljana-Bežigrad High School in 1968. He continued his education at the Law School of the University of Ljubljana where he received a law degree. After, he earned a master's degree in diplomatic studies at the University of Westminster in London. Additionally, he also obtained a PhD in international law with a focus on diplomatic protection at the Law School of the University of Ljubljana.
Early career
He began his diplomatic career in 1974 in Yugoslavia as an intern at the Federal Secretariat of Foreign Affairs. He then worked as Vice-Consul at the Yugoslav Consulate-General in Sydney, Australia from 1977 to 1981 and then served as First Secretary for press and cultural cooperation at the Yugoslav Embassy in Greece from 1985 to 1989. Dr. Cerar among others worked towards equal use and recognition of the Slovenian language in Yugoslav diplomatic service, especially in communication with Slovenian emigrants and Slovenian speaking Yugoslavian citizens. In the period between his first and second posting, he was the Secretary of the Committee for International Cooperation of the Trade Union Association of Slovenia. At the time of the breakup of Yugoslavia, he was the head of the Western Europe Department at FSFA. His last year in Yugoslav, first months in Slovenian diplomatic service, and his contribution to the Slovenian independence is described in his books: Diplomacija za kulisami, and Opazovalci . An extract from Diplomacija za kulisami was also published in Delo, a Slovenian newspaper.
His work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia began the morning after the proclamation of Slovenia's independence. In the Summer of 1991, after the Agreement at Brioni, the government of the Republic of Slovenia appointed him coordinator of the Liaison officers who worked to insure communication between Slovenian authorities and the observers of the European Union. They oversaw the implementation of the ceasefire between the Slovenian Territorial Defence and Yugoslav Armed Forces. In the second half of the year, Dr. Cerar led the Department for European Countries and North America, one of the two departments at the MFA at that time. In the spring of 1992, as a Charge d'Affaires ad interim, he opened the Slovenian embassy in London, where he served until 1996. The same year he also became the Under Secretary at the MFA and Head of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, first Zoran Thaler, followed by Davorin Kračun and then again Zoran Thaler. From 1997 to 2001 he served as the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Canada. After his return to MFA he first led the Department for Multilateral Affairs and then the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Department. As an eager supporter of Transatlantic relationship and NATO, he was very active before the referendum on Slovenia's joining the Alliance. In 2004, he became the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Poland. In the first government of Janez Janša in 2005 and 2006, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister. He was the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Slovenia to NATO from 2007 to 2011. After his return, he served as State Secretary in MFA in the second government of Janez Janša, and then as the State Secretary in the government of Alenka Bratušek. His diplomatic journey ended as Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the United States and Mexico from 2013 to 2017.
Published works
In addition to the aforementioned two books, Božo Cerar also published some other books on the topics of international law and international relations – Veliki slovenski diplomatski pojmovnik, Slovenski diplomatski pojmovnik, Diplomatski pojmovnik, Diplomatska zaščita, Faux pas, Washingtonski zapiski and RSVP Kulinarična diplomacija as well as a number of articles. He has also published a series of fictional books for children, translated into English and Polish respectively, such as: Veronika in letalo ropotalo, Uganke za Veroniko, Gorska ribica gre na morje, Hrib nad dedkovo hišo, and Slinko. Dnevi preizkušenj represents a youth story. He has also published a partially autobiographic novel under the pseudonym Božidar T. Dolenc, titled Grenke pomaranče in a series of four books . The novel is a rare example of Slovenian literature on the topic of the life of a diplomat. Zgodbe iz mladosti are also an autobiographical work.