Klavdijo Avsenik
Klavdijo Avsenik | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of Zacotia | |
| Assumed office 15 September 2005 | |
| Prime Minister | Ožbe Habjan Patrick Krivec Adnan Kociper Marko Trstenjak |
| Preceded by | Arsen Bratina |
| Chairman of the State Security Council | |
| Assumed office 14 August 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Leader of Zacotian Union | |
| In office 2 January 2006 – 22 May 2018 | |
| Deputy | Adnan Kociper Marko Trstenjak |
| Preceded by | Ožbe Habjan |
| Succeeded by | Marko Trstenjak |
| Mayor of Lukovo | |
| In office 8 March 1993 – 18 November 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Fedja Debeljak |
| Succeeded by | Redžep Urbas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Klavdijo Avsenik 6 July 1957 Lukovo, Bitnje, Zacotia |
| Political party | National Regeneration Party (before 2002) Independent (2005–2006) Zacotian Union (2005–2018) Independent (2018–) |
| Spouse(s) | Senija Matko (m. 1979; div. 1985) Amra Rijavec (m. 1988; div. 2000) |
| Domestic partner | Nija Lozar |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence | Presidential Palace |
| Education | Rožman Gymnasium University of Ladnica (dropped out) |
| Alma mater | University of Lukovo (B.S. in Economics) |
Klavdijo Avsenik (born 6 July 1957) is a Zacotian politician serving as the President of Zacotia since 2005. He was the leader of Zacotian Union from 2006 to 2018. He will run as an independent in the 2020 presidential election but remains aligned with the party.
Avsenik was born in Lukovo, Zacotia's second-largest city, in 1957. Despite his lower-class background, he studied at the prestigious Rožman Gymnasium. He won a scholarship to the University of Ladnica but later transferred to the University of Lukovo where he completed his bachelor studies in economics in 1970. He worked for the Zacotian Investment Bank and the Ministry of Finance. In 1993, he was elected Mayor of Lukovo for the National Regeneration Party. As mayor, he focused on efforts pertaining to urban renewal, anti-corruption, and education.
He resigned as mayor in 2002 with high approval ratings and returned to work in financial services. He refused a position in the Bratina presidential administration as Minister of Finance. He ran in the 2005 presidential election against Bratina as an independent, promising reform of the civil service, anti-corruption statutes, and reduction of taxes. He won in the second round with 61.45% of the vote.
Critics charge Avsenik with engineering democratic backsliding and worsening government corruption. His supporters argue that he has improved the standard of living and presided over a period of unprecedented economic growth. International watchdog groups allege that Avsenik has transformed Zacotia into a hybrid regime with Zacotian Union as a party of power.