Marta Kos (Slovene pronunciation: [ˈmáːrta ˈkóːs]; born 28 June 1965) is a Slovenian diplomat and politician. She served as ambassador to Germany from 2013 to 2017, and as ambassador to Switzerland from 2017 to 2020.[1] Since December 2024, she is the European Commissioner for Enlargement in the second von der Leyen's Commission.
Marta Kos | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement | |
| Assumed office 1 December 2024 | |
| President | Ursula von der Leyen |
| Preceded by | Olivér Várhelyi |
| Ambassador of Slovenia to Switzerland | |
| In office 12 September 2017 – 30 June 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Franc Mikša |
| Succeeded by | Iztok Grmek |
| Ambassador of Slovenia to Germany | |
| In office 27 September 2013 – 12 September 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Mitja Drobnič |
| Succeeded by | Franc But |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marta Kos 28 June 1965 |
| Political party | Independent (2022–present) |
| Other political affiliations | League of Communists of Yugoslavia (formerly) Freedom Movement (2022) |
| Spouse | Henri Gétaz |
| Alma mater | Faculty of Social Sciences, Ljubljana |
| Occupation | Journalist • Diplomat • Politician |
From April to September 2022, she was one of the vice presidents of the Freedom Movement.[2] Ahead of the 2022 presidential election, she was the candidate of the Freedom Movement for president of Slovenia until her withdrawal in August.[3] Following the withdrawal she resigned as Freedom Movement vice president. Following resignation of Tatjana Bobnar as Minister of the Interior she also resigned from the Freedom Movement stating that it is not her party anymore.[4]
Early life and career
editIn her youth, Kos was a record-holding Yugoslav and Slovenian swimming champion.[5] She studied journalism and joined the sports division of RTV, and later moved to Germany where she worked for Deutsche Welle and as Bonn correspondent for RTV starting in 1993.[5] From 1997 to 1999, she served as director of the Slovenian government information office and as spokesperson of the government.[6] In 2000, she was appointed vice president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.[5]
In 2013, the government of Alenka Bratušek appointed her Ambassador to Berlin, Germany, as part of a political quota (non-career diplomats).[7] In 2017, she was appointed Ambassador to Bern, Switzerland.[8] In 2020, she resigned as ambassador due to disagreement with the government's foreign policy, as well as accusations of mobbing and consequental internal control over the work of the embassy.[9]
In 2022, she announced her candidacy for President of the Republic.[10] In unexplained circumstances, she resigned from her candidacy and resigned as vice-president of the Freedom Movement.[11] After the resignation of Tatjana Bobnar as Minister of the Interior, due to a conflict with Prime Minister Robert Golob, she also resigned from the Freedom Movement party in 2023, explaining that it was no longer her party, thus supporting Tatjana Bobnar.[4]
In September 2024, she was proposed as a candidate for a member of European commissioner for Enlargement, responsible for overseeing relations with Eastern neighbors replacing Tomaž Vesel, who resigned from the candidacy for European Commissioner.[12] On 17 September 2024, Ursula von der Leyen announced Kos would be in charge of the European enlargement, pending approval of the European Parliament, thus assessing membership applications of Ukraine and Moldova and other countries to join the European Union.[13]
Personal life
editKos is married to Henri Gétaz, who is the secretary general of the European Free Trade Association.[14]
References
edit- ^ "Marta Kos Freedom Movement's candidate for president". The Slovenia Times. 29 June 2022.
- ^ "Po umiku še odstop: kaj je zapisala Marta Kos in kaj naj bi se dogajalo pred tem" (in Slovenian). N1. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Marta Kos se umika iz predsedniške tekme" (in Slovenian). Radiotelevizija Slovenija. 30 August 2022.
- ^ a b S, A. "Marta Kos po dogajanju glede ministrice Tatjane Bobnar izstopila iz Gibanja Svoboda". rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ a b c "Marta Kos Marko: Predsednica? Morda čez štiri leta!" (in Slovenian). Sobotainfo.com. 6 May 2017.
- ^ "(Portret tedna) Marta Kos: Ne ženska iz ozadja, temveč iz ospredja zmagoslavja Goloba". Večer (in Slovenian). 30 April 2022.
- ^ "Uradno: Marta Kos Marko za veleposlanico v Berlinu". Finance (in Slovenian). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Borut Pahor postavil Marto Kos Marko za veleposlanico v Švici". siol.net (in Slovenian). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Zakaj je odstopila Marta Kos". Mladina.si. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Tudi Marta Kos napoveduje, da bo njeno delovanje drugačno od Pahorjevega". Novice Svet24 (in Slovenian). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ Roglič, Meta (13 September 2022). "Po umiku še odstop: kaj je zapisala Marta Kos in kaj naj bi se dogajalo pred tem". N1 (in Slovenian). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ Wax, Eddy (9 September 2024). "Slovenia chooses new commissioner nominee as von der Leyen pushes for more women". POLITICO. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
- ^ Vinocur, Nicholas; Hajdari, Una (18 September 2024). "What Europe's new enlargement czar, Marta Kos, means for Ukraine". POLITICO. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
- ^ Comino, Andreja (30 May 2022). "Henri je moja skala in največja podpora!". Svet24 (in Slovenian).