State Secretary of the Slovenian Government
Marko Starman was born on 20 June 1969. He studied law at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law, and graduated in 1994. His studies focused primarily on the subject of civil law. Throughout his studies he received a national grant for gifted students, and with a grant from the British Government he had a work experience placement in 1993 with the law firm of Donne Mileham & Haddock Solicitors and in the chambers of Richard Stone QC at the High Court of London. During his placement he also prepared lectures for the partners of the firm Donne Mileham & Haddock.
In June 1994 he took part at the annual conference of ATRIP, the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property. In June 1996, with the financial assistance of the US Government Agency NAFSA, he gained his master's degree in the field of administrative and constitutional law at the University of Chicago, Law School. He served his articled apprenticeship in 1997 at the Higher Court of Koper and in the law offices of Starman-Velkaverh in Koper. He was employed as a government adviser in June 1998 at the Prime Minister's Office where he worked in the Deputy Prime Minister's Office as secretary of the Government Commission for Protecting Public and State Property and for Protecting Public Interest, and in the field of international and constitutional law affairs. In the same year he completed the Combat Units Officers School.
He also performs the task of deputy national coordinator for the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. He has been lecturing at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law as an external associate. His subjects are Introduction to Public Administration and Local Self-Government.
Before his appointment as State Secretary in the Government Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy he was a state secretary at the Ministry of Justice responsible for European affairs and the coordination (2000-2005) and at the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (2005-2007).
He speaks English, Italian and Croatian.
