Nataša Pirc Musar to become Slovenia’s first female president

Former broadcaster and lawyer to Melania Trump was backed by centre-left government and defeated conservative rival

A liberal lawyer and former data privacy commissioner backed by Slovenia's centre-left government has been elected the country's first female president after beating her conservative rival in a runoff vote on Sunday.

With 99% of votes counted, Nataa Pirc Musar was in the lead on 53.8% of the vote, ahead of the conservative veteran Ane Logar on 46.1%. While both candidates had run as independents, they were backed by the centre-left and rightwing political blocs of the small eastern European country of 2 million, which has been a member of the EU for 15 years.