Simona Kustec

Dr. Simona Kustec, born on 19 June 1976, is the Minister of Education, Science and Sport, Slovenia, she was a full professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences in the Department of Political Science, Chair of Policy Analysis and Public Administration. In the 2019/20 academic year, she also lectured at the Venice International University.

Prof. dr. Kustec Lipicer taught subjects on policy analysis, human rights policy and global governance. She is the author of over 400 scholarly works on a variety of issues, published by leading Slovenian and international academic publishers.

Prof. dr. Kustec Lipicer was also a researcher with a rich and diverse body of work. She was involved in several research project groups in Slovenia and abroad. The common thread of her research was the study of elections and electoral behaviour, democracy and various public policies, including sports policy. She was an established name in numerous professional scientific networks and associations and a respected member of the academic and research community.

In the 2014–2018 term, she was head of the Party of Modern Centre Deputy Group (SMC). In addition to leading the largest deputy group in the history of the Slovenian Parliament, she also coordinated the work between coalition members in the National Assembly.

Throughout the 2014–2018 period, she was Vice-President of the SMC and a member of the party's executive committee. During preparations for the European Parliament elections, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) invited her to participate in the expert group drafting the programme document for the 2019 elections.