Janez Podobnik

Podobnik was born in the small town of Cerkno in western Slovenia, in what was then the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia.

[2] In 1990, he joined the Slovenian People's Party and was elected as the first non-communist mayor of Idrija after World War II.

During the coalition government between the Slovenian People's Party[3] and the left Liberal Democracy of Slovenia, Podobnik served as speaker of the National Assembly (1996–2000).

In November 2007, Podobnik resigned as president of the Slovenian People's Party, which was defeated in the parliamentary election in September 2008.

His brother, Marjan Podobnik, also a politician, was the president of the Slovenian People's Party from 1992 to 2000, and deputy prime minister from 1997 to 2000.