{{Short description|Slovenian politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Matjaž Nemec | image = 1718870258784 20240619 NEMEC Matjaz SI 014.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2024 | office = Member of the European Parliament | term_start = 18 May 2022 | term_end = | predecessor = Tanja Fajon | office1 = Member of the National Assembly | term_start1 = 1 August 2014 | term_end1 = 13 May 2022 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|04|10|df=y}} | birth_place = Nova Gorica, Slovenia, Yugoslavia | death_date = | death_place = | party = '''{{flag|Slovenia|name=Slovenia}}:'''<br />Social Democrats<br>'''{{flag|EU}}:'''<br />S&D | other_party = | spouse = | education = }}
'''Matjaž Nemec''' (born 10 April 1980), is a Slovenian politician, who is currently a member of the European Parliament since 18 May 2022.
Between 2014 and 2022, Nemec was a member of the National Assembly of Slovenia from the Social Democrats party. During the 7th National Assembly, he was also its vice-president. Before being elected as a Member of Parliament, he worked as an assistant to the President of Slovenia, Borut Pahor.
==Biography==
Matjaž Nemec was born in Nova Gorica on 10 April 1980.<ref>{{Cite web |title=9th parliamentary term {{!}} Matjaž NEMEC {{!}} MEPs {{!}} European Parliament |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/233862/MATJAZ_NEMEC/history/9 |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref>
He studied at CDI Univerzum and graduated in 2007. Until 2008, he worked as a salesman.
Nemec is an activist of the Slovenian Social Democrats. From 2008 to 2011, he was the personal secretary of Prime Minister Borut Pahor. In 2012, he employed in the administration of the Slovenian government as an analyst. In the same year as Borut Pahor took office, Nemec was nominated as his assistant.
In 2013, he graduated from IBS mednarodna poslovna šola Ljubljana, and in 2017, at the same university, he obtained a master's degree in international business and sustainable development.
In the 2014 National Assembly elections, Nemec ran in the electoral district Nova Gorica I. He won the parliamentary mandate with 1,467 or 11.13% of the votes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Predčasne volitve v državni zbor 2014|url=http://volitve.gov.si/dz2014/rezultati/rez_ka2.html|website=volitve.gov.si|accessdate=2020-12-31}}</ref> He was also elected as one of the vice-presidents of the National Assembly of Slovenia.
In 2017, when he was the vice-president of the National Assembly, Nemec described Croatia as "a geographically and politically peripheral country of the European Union, which belongs together with Bulgaria and Romania." He added that even the Visegrád Group does not want Croatia and that "it is a peripheral country also in relation to human rights."<ref>{{cite web|title=26. nujna seja Odbora za zunanjo politiko in 22. nujna seja Odbora za zadeve Evropske unije, 1. del|url=https://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/skupne-seje-delovnih-teles-drzavnega-zbora/174737077|website=RTV 4D|accessdate=2020-12-31|language=sl|first=Multimedijski center RTV|last=Slovenija}}</ref> The statement was followed by a stormy reaction from the Croatian media, Jutranji.hr and Global wrote that the Social Democrats "became the leading nationalist party, worse than the right-wing nationalists."<ref>{{cite web|title=Globus - ZAŠTO SLOVENIJA VODI ŠOVINISTIČKI RAT PROTIV HRVATSKE Socijaldemokrati su im postali vodeća nacionalistička stranka, gora i od desnih nacionalista...|url=https://www.jutarnji.hr/globus/zasto-slovenija-vodi-sovinisticki-rat-protiv-hrvatske-socijaldemokrati-su-im-postali-vodeca-nacionalisticka-stranka-gora-i-od-desnih-nacionalista-5846399|website=www.jutarnji.hr|date=2017-04-01|accessdate=2020-12-31|language=hr-hr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Matjaž Nemec je z izjavami na RTV tako zelo razjezil Hrvate, da se jim je zmešalo: Socialni demokrati so slovenski nacionalisti, odmeva z južne strani meje! {{!}} Nova24TV na najdi.si novicah|url=http://novice.najdi.si/predogled/novica/002ad4dcb60129f75ca6d5e88a876743/Nova24TV/Slovenija/Matja%C5%BE-Nemec-je-z-izjavami-na-RTV-tako-zelo-razjezil-Hrvate-da-se-jim-je-zme%C5%A1alo-Socialni-demokrati-so-slovenski-nacionalisti-odmeva-z-ju%C5%BEne-strani-meje|website=novice.najdi.si|accessdate=2020-12-31}}</ref>
In 2018, at the electoral district Nova Gorica II, he was re-elected as a member of the National Assembly of Slovenia, with 2,324 votes or 18.25% of the votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Predčasne volitve v Državni zbor 2018 |trans-title=Early elections to the National Assembly 2018 |url=https://volitve.gov.si/dz2018/#/rezultati |access-date=2020-12-31 |website=volitve.gov.si |language=sl}}</ref>
He was a member of the following working bodies:
* Commission for Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services (chairman) * Committee for Culture (member) * Committee on Foreign Policy (member, formerly chairman) * Commission of Inquiry on the determination of abuses and uneconomic behavior in the BATB (deputy member)
He ran for a new parliamentary mandate in the 2022 parliamentary elections, but did not win the election.<ref>{{cite web|title=Novi poslanci: Volilna aritmetika je nekatere z največ glasovi pustila brez mandata|url=https://www.rtvslo.si/slovenija/parlamentarne-volitve-2022/novi-poslanci-volilna-aritmetika-je-nekatere-z-najvec-glasovi-pustila-brez-mandata/625268|website=RTVSLO.si|accessdate=2022-04-26|language=sl}}</ref>
In the 2022 National Assembly elections, the then MEP Tanja Fajon was elected as a member of the National Assembly of the Slovenia, and later as Minister of Foreign Affairs. According to the results of the 2019 European elections, Nemec thus became an alternate MEP. The National Assembly confirmed his mandate on 18 May 2022.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 May 2022 |title=SD vice president Nemec confirmed as MEP to replace Fajon |url=https://sloveniatimes.com/sd-vice-president-nemec-confirmed-as-mep-to-replace-fajon/ |access-date=2022-05-20 |website=The Slovenia Times |language=en |archive-date=2023-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702113502/https://sloveniatimes.com/sd-vice-president-nemec-confirmed-as-mep-to-replace-fajon/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In July 2025, Nemec provided the lone vote from the S&D group in favour of the censure motion against the von der Leyen Commission II over Pfizergate.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-07-10|title=Von der Leyen wins vote of no-confidence but warned this is her 'absolute last chance'|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-commission-president-ursula-von-der-leyen-wins-vote-no-confidence-european-parliament/|date=2025-07-10|website=POLITICO}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/PV-10-2025-07-10-RCV_EN.pdf|title=Roll-call vote result}}</ref>
==Personal life==
===Family===
He divorced his first wife, Iryna Osypenko, a Ukrainian model.<ref>{{cite web|title=Matjaž Nemec: Takšno je njegovo ljubezensko življenje po ločitvi|url=https://zurnal24.si/magazin/vip/matjaz-nemec-taksno-je-njegovo-ljubezensko-zivljenje-po-locitvi-324679|website=zurnal24.si|accessdate=2020-05-26|language=sl}}</ref> In May 2021, he and his partner Nina Tršelič has a son, Maj.<ref>{{cite web|title=Matjaž Nemec je prvič postal očka|url=https://siol.net/trendi/svet-znanih/matjaz-nemec-je-prvic-postal-ocka-551998|website=siol.net|accessdate=2021-05-12|language=sl}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Current EP Slovenia}} {{EP Political Group S&D}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nemec, Matjaz}} Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Members of the 7th National Assembly of Slovenia Category:Members of the 8th National Assembly of Slovenia Category:MEPs for Slovenia 2024–2029 Category:People from Nova Gorica Category:Social Democrats (Slovenia) MEPs Category:Social Democrats (Slovenia) politicians