At the age of 49, Pahor became the youngest president to date and also the only person who has held every top-level office in the country, having already served as prime minister (2008-2012) and parliament speaker (2000-2004).

In the highest elected office in the country, he succeeds Milan Kučan (1992-2002), Janez Drnovšek (2002-2007) and Danilo Türk (2007-2012), whom he defeated in the 2 December run-off with 67.37% of the vote. He will formally take over presidential duties on Sunday.

The Constitution gives the president limited powers, including calling general elections, naming the prime minister-designate, nominating Constitutional Court judges, promulgating laws and appointing ambassadors at the government's proposals.

But subsequent legislation has expanded these powers, giving the president the authority to nominate key office holders such as the central bank governor, human rights ombudsman, Court of Audit president, information Commissioner and the members of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption.

Indeed, one of Pahor's first tasks will be to nominate the new human rights ombudsman, as Zdenka Čebašek Travnik's term in office ends in a few weeks.