Emil Cesar (16 August 1927 – 12 September 2020) was a Slovenian literary historian, editor, and former professor at the University of Ljubljana.
In 1977 he started lecturing on contemporary Slovene literature at the Faculty of Education at the University of Ljubljana.
His work focuses on Slovene literature during the period between the two world wars and the literature of Slovene resistance against the Nazi takeover during the Second World War, particularly of Karel Destovnik Kajuh and working-class writers.
Among his work are also numerous forewords, studies, and commentaries on many publications by other authors, as well as anthologies.
From 1982 to 1988, he was the main editor of the magazine Obzornik, where he emphasized the Slovene outlook of the publication.