Dimitrij Rupel (Ljubljana, 1946) is a professor of sociology and international politics, a writer, a politician and a diplomat. In 1987, under his editorship, the dissident journal Nova revija published the controversial collection Contributions for the Slovenian National Program that served as the philosophical and political basis for the Slovenian movement of national independence. Dr. Rupel and his colleagues were purged. In January 1989, Dr. Rupel established the Slovenian Democratic Alliance that joined the opposition coalition Demos. In April 1990, Dr. Rupel became minister in the first democratically elected Slovene government. During the past 20 years, Dr. Rupel has spent approximately 10 years as Foreign Minister in the governments chaired by Peterle, Drnovšek, Rop and Janša. In 1992, he was elected to the Parliament; in 1994, he became the Mayor of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, and between 1997 and 2000, he served as the Ambassador of Slovenia to the United States of America. In the first semester of 2008, he was the President of the EU Council for General Affairs and External Relations (GAERC). After the elections of 2008, Dr. Rupel was an adviser to Prime Minister Pahor. He writes about his political and about experience, and analyzing contemporary international issues. His latest book (The President or As It Was) was published in October 2009.