Ljubljana - President Borut Pahor conferred state decorations on three deserving individuals on Tuesday. Civil engineer Marjan Pipenbaher was honoured for bridge design, former CEO of dairy Mlekarna Planika Anka Lipušček Miklavčič for preserving local customs, and KLS Ljubno CEO Bogomir Mirko Strašek for his contribution to the Slovenian economy.

Pipenbaher received the Silver Order of Merit for his extraordinary achievements in designing and building over 200 bridges in Slovenia and Europe.

Most recently, he designed the Pelješac Bridge in Croatia, which was inaugurated at the end of July as the biggest infrastructural project in Croatia's history.

Pipenbaher was also the project leader for the Črni Kal viaduct on the Primorska motorway that opened in 2004 as the longest bridge in Slovenia.

He has done several other projects in Slovenia but also in Montenegro, Israel and Turkey.

"I'm greatly honoured to receive this recognition," Pipanbaher said, noting that a country as small as Slovenia needed "excellent knowledge, creativity, and most of all courage".

Lipušček Miklavič, who retired from Mlekarna Planika at the end of last month, received the Order of Merit for her contribution to the development of Slovenian farming and economy, and for preserving local customs of the Posočje region, west.

She sees the decoration as a recognition of her efforts to convince consumers to buy Slovenian. "This is exceptionally important, this is how we create the basis for food security," she said.

Strašek received the Order of Merit for his contribution to the development of the Slovenian economy, strengthening of business culture and raising the quality of life in the Savinja valley, east.

"It' not enough to work as much as you think you can, you have to work as much as it takes to achieve a goal, even if this is sometimes more than you can handle," he said at today's ceremony at Presidential Palace.