Ambassador PROF. DR. ANTON BEBLER

BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Anton Alex Bebler studied various subjects at undergraduate and graduate levels in Slovenia, Serbia, Russia, USA, UK and France. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA in 1971. Since 1972 he has taught at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and in 1986 became a full Professor of Political Science at its Faculty of Social Sciences. For several years he taught at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, Austria and occasionally lectured and researched at various universities and institutes in North America, Europe and Asia. He has served as member of councils and boards of several international professional associations (ISA, IPSA, IUS et. al.), of several national and international editorial and advisory boards and panels, including the Strategic Council, Foreign Ministry, Republic of Slovenia. Dr. Bebler authored a dozen books in several languages, wrote chapters in numerous international compendia and over 400 scholarly articles in journals published in about 30 European, North and South American, Asian and African countries on various topics in the fields of international relations, international organizations, comparative political systems, military politics, Eastern European and other regional studies. Among his latest books are the textbook for university students “Introduction to European integration”, 2007 (in Slovenian and Albanian) and the forthcoming edited volume “NATO at 60”, IOS Press, Amsterdam, 2009 (in English).

In 1991 - 1992 Dr. Bebler founded and chaired the Slovenian Council of the European Movement. In August 1992 he joined Slovenian Foreign Service and until September 1997 served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the UN Office, at the World Trade Organization (WTO), World Health Organization (WHO), International Labour Organization (ILO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) et al in Geneva. Since February 1998 he has been President of the Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia and in 1999 – 2002 served as Vice-Chairman of the Paris-based Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA). At the 2002 presidential election in Slovenia Dr. Bebler stood as candidate of the DESUS party. In 2006-2009 he served as Member, Executive Council, International Political Science Association. Dr. Bebler organized, co-organized and chaired several international conferences, among them conferences held in Slovenia: on EU and NATO enlargement into South-Eastern Europe in May 2000 (in cooperation with the Wilton Park Conferences); on OSCE’s relations with other international organizations and on OSCE’s reform in September 2005 (in cooperation with the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva); on security in the Western Balkans in September 2007 (in cooperation with the US German Marshall Fund); on the EU/NATO cooperation in the Western Balkans in May 2008 and on NATO’s Eastern enlargement since the end of the Cold War in February 2009.

Dr. Bebler is fluent in English, French, Russian and speaks several other Slavic and non-Slavic European languages.

Married to Mrs. Darja Lavtižar-Bebler, former Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the Council of Europe; M.P., National Assembly of Slovenia; Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on EU Affairs; Head, Slovenian delegation, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.