LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Former Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek, an architect of the country's independence from the former Yugoslavia, died after a long battle with cancer, Slovenian news agency STA reported on Saturday.
Drnovsek, 57, was Slovenia's last representative in thecollective presidency of communist Yugoslavia which comprisedall eight constituent parts of the former federation.
He was Slovenian prime minister for some 10 years beforebecoming president in 2002. In opinion polls he was regularlyamong the most popular politicians in the country. But hedidn't run for a second five-year mandate and was replaced byanother leftist, Danilo Turk, in December.
After being diagnosed with cancer in 1999 he turned topromote healthy lifestyle and vegetarian diet. In the last fewyears he wrote three books on awareness which instantly becamebest-sellers in Slovenia and were translated into severallanguages.
As prime minister he played a major role in preparingSlovenia to join the European Union and NATO in 2004 and tobecome the first former communist country to adopt the euro in2007.
(Reporting by Manca Ulcar and Marja Novak; editing by SamiAboudi)
