Strniša, who was appointed by Pahor on Monday, will replace Leon Marc as the head of the Slovenian Embassy in Prague.

As a long-serving state secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture from the Social Democrats (SD), Strniša belongs to the quota of political ambassadors.

In accordance with the law, 10% of the heads of Slovenian embassies may be non-career diplomats who are proposed or selected by the foreign minister or the government.

Strniša is not without diplomatic experience, though, as she worked at the Slovenian Embassy in Prague between September 2008 and July 2009.

The 56-year-old has a bachelor's degree in agronomy and a master's degree in agricultural entrepreneurship from the Biotechnical Faculty in Ljubljana.

Strniša served as a state secretary at the the Ministry of Agriculture from 2010 to February 2012, and then from March 2013 onwards.

She previously worked in the government office for European affairs and participated in the activities related to the Slovenian presidency of the EU in the first half of 2008.