Janko Prunk
Janko Prunk | |
|---|---|
 Janko Prunk in 2006 | |
| Born | December 30, 1942 |
| Nationality | Slovenian |
| Occupation(s) | Historian, Politician |
| Employer(s) | Faculty of Social Sciences, Ljubljana |
| Known for | Modern history, Political philosophy, Christian socialism |
| Spouse(s) |
Alenka Štante (m. 1977–1983)Mojca Lapanja Prunk (m. 2004) |
| Children | Jan Prunk |
| Parent(s) | Franc Prunk Jr. (1917-1965) Zofija Koren Prunk (1917-1987) |
| Website | www.jankoprunk.com |
Janko Prunk (born December 30, 1942) is a Slovenian historian of modern history.
Prunk was born in the small settlement of Loka pri Zidanem Mostu (part of the the municipality of Sevnica), in central Slovenia, which was then the German-occupied Lower Styria. Prunk has keen interest in writing and has written on analytical politology, modern history, the genesis of modern political formations, and the history of social and political philosophy in Slovenia. He has also written on the history of political movements in Slovenia from the end of 19th century until World War II, especially about Slovene Christian socialism and the history of Slovenian national questions.
Education
Graduating from history and sociology at the University of Ljubljana in 1966, he obtained his Master degree from the same institution in 1972. In 1976, he obtained his PhD with a thesis on the relationship between the Slovenian Christian Socialist movement and the Communist Party of Slovenia within the Liberation Front of the Slovenian People, which was still a controversial topic at the time. In 1984 and 1988, Prunk was awarded scholarships by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which enabled him to continue his studies in Cologne and Freiburg. Later, he worked as a researcher at the University of Freiburg. From 1966 to 1995, he collaborated with the Institute for modern history in Ljubljana. He is now a professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences[1] of the University of Ljubljana.
Prunk is a member of Institute of European History in Mainz, and a senior fellow of the Center for European Integration Studies in Bonn.
Politics
He has also been actively involved in politics. As an early admirer of Jože Pučnik, Prunk joined the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia after the democratization of Slovenia. He was an active member of the Slovenian Democratic Party (known as Slovenian Social Democratic Party between 1989 and 2003). Between 1992 and 1993, Prunk served as Minister for Slovenes outside Slovenia and National Minorities in Slovenia in the first coalition cabinet[2] of Janez Drnovšek.
After 1994, Prunk withdrew from politics for over a decade. Before the parliamentary elections of 2004, he campaigned for the Slovenian Democratic Party. In 2005, he was appointed by the Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, as president of the Slovene-Croatian Historical Commission[3], formed by the Government of the two countries, to shed light on the history of the relations between the two Nations.[4] Between 2004 and 2008, he served as chairman of the Slovenian Democratic Party's internal Committee for Education Policies. He resigned in 2008 because of disagreements over the Government policy favoring private universities. After the split with the party, he became very critical of the then Prime Minister Janez Janša, whom he accused of being a "liberal with an authoritative touch, who aspires at becoming a Slovenian Piłsudski"[5].
After the parliamentary elections of 2008, Prunk explained his disappointment with the Slovenian Democratic Party as a consequence of its neo-liberal turn. In Prunk's opinion, the party turned its back to the ideals of welfare state held by its founding father Jože Pučnik.[6] Prunk also criticised the charismatic type of leadership of the party's president Janez Janša, stating that the party would most probably collapse if Janša resigned.[7]
Publications
Janko Prunk has written over 400 specialized articles, and 15 books, since 1966. His book, A brief history of Slovenia: Historical background of the Republic of Slovenia[8], is one of the most comprehensive works on modern Slovenian history[9][10].
Bibliography
A brief history of Slovenia: Historical background of the republic of Slovenia (1st ed.). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Založba Grad. 1996-05-15. ISBN 961-9011929. {{cite book}}: External link in |publisher=
A brief history of Slovenia (2nd, revised ed.). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Založba Grad. 2000. ISBN 961-9011961. {{cite book}}: External link in |publisher=
A brief history of Slovenia (3rd, renewed ed.). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Založba Grad. 2008-06-10. ISBN 978-9619244807. {{cite book}}: External link in |publisher=
Die rationalistische Zivilisation[12]. Bonn, Germany: Zentrum für Europäische Integrationsforschung, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität. 2003. ISBN 3-936183260. {{cite book}}: External link in |publisher=|title= at position 34 (help)
Racionalistična civilizacija : 1776-2000[13][14] (1st ed.). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Mladinska knjiga. 2008. ISBN 978-9610106296. {{cite book}}: External link in |publisher=|title= at position 41 (help)
See also
References
- ^ Personal section at the University of Ljubljana
- ^ Government of the Republic of Slovenia from 1992-1993
- ^ second session of the Slovenian-Croatian historical commission (2005)
- ^ Slovensko-hrvaška zgodovinska komisija: Odnosi predvsem dobri in Dnevnik Magazine, 2 December 2005 Template:Sl icon
- ^ Janko Prunk, "Janez Janša in njegova stranka po štirih letih na oblasti: L'État, c'est moi!". Delo, 16 September 2008 (p. 5)
- ^ http://www.dnevnik.si/novice/slovenija/1042232576
- ^ http://www.dnevnik.si/novice/slovenija/1042232576
- ^ Slovenian Historia Template:Fi icon
- ^ The creation of the Republic of Slovenia and its development
- ^ COBISS personal bibliography list Template:Sl icon
- ^ The Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies
- ^ ZEI discussion papers Bonn University Template:De icon
- ^ Book article about Racionalistična civilizacija on RTV Slovenia, 9 November 2008 Template:Sl icon
- ^ Brief description about "Racionalistična civilizacija" on Mladinska knjiga website Template:Sl icon
External links
- University of Ljubljana alumni
- University of Ljubljana faculty
- University of Cologne faculty
- University of Freiburg faculty
- Historians of Europe
- Historians of the Balkans
- Slovenian historians
- Slovenian writers
- Slovenian journalists
- Slovenian philosophers
- Slovenian sociologists
- Slovenian politicians
- Slovenian Democratic Party politicians
- Slovenian Roman Catholics
- Slovenian expatriates in Germany
- People from Sevnica
- 1942 births
- Living people