Židan said that Katič was a "good politician and a jurist with a lot of management experience", which were the skills that the Defence Ministry needed.

The SD already had a woman defence minister who headed the ministry well, Židan said referring to their party member Ljubica Jelušič (2008-2011), adding that he believed that Katič would continue with this tradition.

Cerar should file the nomination in parliament next week along with the nomination for the new education minister, who is also to be revealed this week, according to Židan.

Unofficially, the candidate is a professor at the Faculty of Economics, Maja Makovec Brenčič, which was confirmed today by Simona Kustec Lipicer, the head of the deputy faction of the Party of Modern Centre (SMC).

Katič and the candidate for education minister are to be heard by the relevant parliamentary committees in two weeks, while MPs are to confirm their nominations at an extraordinary session, Židan told reporters after today's coalition meeting.

Support for Katič was also announced today by the head of the coalition Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), Karl Erjavec, while Kustec Lipicer also indicated that the senior coalition party would back her.

Katič told the press she had decided to stand as minister candidate, because she wanted to strengthen Slovenia's defence and security system, especially in the area of protection, rescue and aid.

She would not go into detail about her future work though, saying she would present it at the parliamentary Defence Committee.

"I wish Slovenia remained one of the safest countries in Europe and would continue to contribute to security of the region and world piece."

Katič, who is also a deputy speaker of the National Assembly, is set to replace SD vice-president Janko Veber, who was ousted in parliament on 9 April over a scandal surrounding his order to the military intelligence agency to probe the sale of telco Telekom Slovenije.

Veber said today he was happy that the Defence Ministry would soon get a new minister, given its importance and over a thousand of employees.

Born on 22 December 1969, Katič graduated from the Maribor Faculty of Law in 1996. Before being elected MP last year, she was head of the Velenje city municipality administration from 1998.

In local government, she was active in various areas, including health, utility services and energy.

Katič, who has a 13-year-old daughter, is a member of the executive committee of the Velenje branch of the WWII Veterans' Association.

If she leaves parliamentary benches to become minister, she will be replaced in parliament by Jan Škoberne, 27, while it remains to be seen if ousted Defence Minister Veber would take her post of parliamentary deputy speaker.