Address of newly elected President Nataša Pirc Musar at a ceremony at the National Assembly

Esteemed President of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Borut Pahor, tomorrow, I will have the honour of assuming the great responsibility of serving as the President of the Republic of Slovenia, esteemed President of the National Assembly, Ms Urška Klakočar Župančič,

esteemed Prime Minister, Mr Robert Golob, President of the National Council Marko Lotrič, President of the Constitutional Court Matej Acceto, President of the Supreme Court Damijan Florjančič, honourable Former Presidents of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Milan Kučan and Mr Danilo Türk, esteemed former Presidents of the National Assembly, distinguished deputies of the National Assembly,

Your Excellencies and Ambassadors,

Dear guests, citizens and residents of the Republic of Slovenia,

I stand before you as the first female President of the Republic of Slovenia. Although self-confident, determined, courageous and strong, I am also vulnerable and have a lot of emotions and dreams. Dreams of a better tomorrow. These are the dreams we were allowed to have when our country declared its independence.

With today’s oath, I pledge that I will dedicate every day to you. To you, who are the State. The State is not something abstract, but a living organism of all of us who are part of it and who are proud to say that we are the citizens of Slovenia.

There has never been a dilemma for me. I have always defended the rule of law, fundamental human rights and the autonomy of state subsystems. The police, the army, diplomacy, healthcare and education are our property. We should therefore care deeply about how these subsystems are treated. We all need to know where politics should stop, and we should bear in mind, each and every day, that these subsystems are in place to serve us as citizens and residents, first and foremost, rather than those in power.

We can look back and argue whether our country has been given to us or whether we fought for it. Looking ahead, the task is clear. We need to safeguard our country. I am the first among equals who must defend it, protect it and love it.

We must love our country because it is ours. We must love it for the sake of future generations. We must love it so that we can pass it on to our successors in excellent condition. We should love it so that we can all have good life.

We need fighters for the future. Fighters with heart. My heart beats for you now. Today it beats a little faster, tomorrow, I hope, more calmly.

I would like to pay tribute to President of the Republic Boris Pahor for his dedicated service to our country. Symbolism matters in diplomacy and in relationships with countries. In the past decade, many symbolic gestures and important moves were made that have strengthened friendships and brought the nations of the region closer together. Thank you, Mr President.

Esteemed Citizens of the Republic of Slovenia,

they say that a function does not change your personality but reveals it. On my path to this day, I have kept nothing from you. I remain the same genuine, sincere and heartfelt Nataša, as I was when I embarked on this journey.

I pledge that I will serve you humbly. Without stepping into someone else's shoes, I am embarking on the path of voice. A voice that will speak up whenever sovereignty, equality, justice and social care are threatened. This voice will be even stronger when the human rights and dignity of the people of this country are at stake.

Yes, these are my own shoes. I am gladly stepping into them and will not take them off for the entire term of office.

The world I am entering as your President is not a friendly one. There is a war raging in Eastern Europe, fires and droughts ran rampant last summer, and we have entered the winter season with anxiety and the heating in our homes turned down.

The challenges ahead of us are many and include climate, food, energy, health and social crises, as well as media crises and polarisation in society.

We need to tackle the challenges based on the values we stand for.

However, we cannot address them alone.

I will work hard for a multilateral global order, for the strength of Europe made up of democratic and inclusive societies.

I will do my best to ensure that we are always mindful of human dignity since this is what we want for ourselves and what we must afford to others. Human dignity is what I will fight for every step of the way.

In the international community, you will recognise me as someone who stands up for human rights, for the coexistence of nature and human beings, for understanding the opportunities and dangers brought by new technologies, for bringing together the strong and the like-minded when it comes to the rights of the vulnerable, for independent and professional media, as well as someone who fights against disinformation and hate speech.

As a sovereign and democratic country, firmly integrated into all key European and global institutions, Slovenia bears its share of responsibility for the stability of the international community. 

As President of the Republic of Slovenia, I am prepared to shoulder a large part of this burden and I expect not to be alone in doing so. Here, I am not only referring to the National Assembly and the Government, with which I will certainly have an excellent working relationship.

Europe is our extended family. A family that must be able to talk, to listen and, in the end, to make joint decisions. Slovenia is at the very heart of this family, both geographically and as regards the recognition of core values. I may sound a bit romantic, but for me freedom, equality and dignity are the cornerstones of our life together.  We should also stay committed to fighting for peace. Peace that has no price. I would like us to be the ones who unite. I endorse our traditional role of an advocate for the European future of the Western Balkans and I will do my utmost to ensure that this path is clearly defined and in the interest of the people of these countries. A few days ago, the heads of EU Member States, also thanks to Slovenia's proactive role, sent a strong message to the region – Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs to the European family.

The famous guiding principle of the Schuman Declaration of 1950 that a strong, robust and united "Europe will not be made all at once, but it will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity", is still relevant to me.

The history of the European Union shows that when such a de facto solidarity is real and clearly expressed, Europe is strong. If this is to be the case, the European Union must be able to respond to all the challenges, even the most difficult ones, such as the wars raging in the neighbourhood and elsewhere in the world.

Therefore, it is all the more important for us to be a member of NATO, which provides for collective defence, a defence that is also a bulwark of peace, to which we ourselves contribute with the Slovenian Armed Forces.

Furthermore, other forms of security are also crucial: energy security, food security, in fact everything that stems from human security as the cornerstone of society, development, peace and stability.

Slovenia is willing and able to assume its share of responsibility in the international community for limiting and eliminating wars, poverty, inequality, as well as responsibility for creating a fairer and more sustainable world.

Our candidacy for non-permanent membership of UN Security Council is a step in this direction.

Slovenia is an excellent candidate and will once again play an excellent role in the Security Council.

I strongly support the candidacy and intend to be actively involved in it.

During the presidential campaign, I met a number of young people who all said to me: "The Planet is also ours. If you are not able to fix it, at least do not destroy it." 

I see climate change as the main challenge of our time.

It is a story about the survival of our planet, a story about respect for others, for nature, for animals, for plants.

It is about the right to live in a healthy environment.

It is a story of intergenerational solidarity.

It is a story of peace and security.

The importance of comprehensive and forward-looking global agreements is significant in this regard, but I am convinced that each and everyone of us can contribute to a more sustainable way of life.

We contribute through the choices we make about how we heat our homes, how we drive and what we eat.

Among his many brilliant thoughts, Nelson Mandela said:

"The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

Mandela is a star guide for what I call civic courage. A courageous person is independent, human and uncompromising when it comes to injustice of any kind. The moment we do not react to injustice, our mind becomes accustomed to it as something normal. And very quickly it happens that we close our eyes and bow our head.

I myself will never close my eyes and I will never bow my head.

Today I am stepping onto the front line of civic courage. I will not give up and I will not look back. I will speak out thoughtfully, soberly and wholeheartedly, and strive for a friendly Slovenia and Europe, for a more beautiful world, the only one we have.

Changes never happen with blandness and in silence. A change will never please everyone. And neither will criticism. We must strive to make changes acceptable to the majority – with clear condemnation of unacceptable practices and with the hope that we will look forward together.

The honourable National Assembly, esteemed citizens and residents of Slovenia, thank you for your trust.