Ludvik Toplak

Ludvik Toplak (born July 13, 1942) is a Slovenian law professor and academic administrator, and former politician, ambassador, and member of the Parliament. He is vice-president of the Alma Mater Europaea and former rector of the University of Maribor. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.^[1]

Toplak taught at the University of Maribor Faculty of Law since 1973. In 1974 he received LL.M. from New York University and in 1980 he received PhD. His post-doctoral research was done at various universities and institutions worldwide, including State University of New York at Potsdam, NY. Between 1980 and 1987 he was Vice-President of Iskra Delta Computers corporation. In the late 1980s and early 1990s he was active in the democratization and independence movement in Slovenia add was a signatory of the declaration of independence of Slovenia from post-Tito Yugoslavia. He was member of the pro-democracy coalition Demos and of Slovenian People's Party. In 1990 he was elected to the Slovenian Parliament and during Slovenia's independence he served as the speaker of the Socio-Political Chamber of the Slovenian Parliament. In 1992 he was reelected to the Parliament, but resigned in 1993 after being elected a rector of the University of Maribor. From 2002 to 2006 he was an Ambassador to the Vatican.

After serving as speaker of the Socio-Political Chamber of the Slovenian Parliament (1999-1992), as a member of the Parliament (1992–1993), as a rector of the University of Maribor (1993–2002), and as an Ambassador to the Holy See (2002–2006), he is currently the vice-president of Alma Mater Europaea international university and president of its Slovenian campus called Alma Mater Europaea - Evropski center, Maribor.

Ludvik Toplak served as a member of the presidency of the European Rectors' Conference and as a president of the Danube Rectors' Conference. He also served as a governor of the United States Chamber of Commerce in Slovenia. In 2000 he was awarded the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in Science award.

References

2. http://www.ewb.rs/member.aspx?id=41