Dimitrij Rupel was born on April 7, 1946 in Ljubljana. In 1976, he obtained Ph.D. in sociology at Brandeis University (U.S.); in 1980’s, he was “responsible editor” of the dissident Nova revija that published the controversial Contributions to the Slovenian National Program; in 1989, he established Slovenian Democratic Party. He served as Foreign Minister of Slovenia (1990-1993, 2000-2008), as Ambassador to the U.S. and as Mayor of Ljubljana. In 2005, he was CIO of OSCE. In 2008, during Slovenian presidency, he chaired the General Affairs and External Relations Council of the EU.
Rupel has published several fiction and non-fiction works – on literature, politics and foreign relations. His latest books are: Pomen osamosvojitve (Meaning of Independence, 2023); Voditelji Slovenije (Leaders of Slovenia, 2024); Približevanje (Approaching, 2024). Dimitrij Rupel taught in Slovenia, Canada and the U.S.
Between 2017 and 2019, he served as Rector of The New University in Ljubljana.
Since 2021, he has been Director of Slovenian Book Agency (JAK), but resigned after pressures from the new Government in 2022.