The Foreign Ministry’s appointments committee, headed by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, approved Sunday the appointment of Ruth Cohen-Dar as Israel’s first resident ambassador to Slovenia—marking the first time Israel will operate a physical embassy in the country.
1+Cohen-Dar has until now served as Israel’s non-resident ambassador to Slovenia and Malta, visiting Slovenia only occasionally. According to Sa’ar, the appointment is part of a broader strategic move to open a permanent Israeli embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital.
Cohen-Dar previously headed the Foreign Ministry’s department for combating antisemitism and preserving Holocaust memory, and during her diplomatic service was posted to Israel’s embassies in Washington, Vienna, and Warsaw. The decision to establish the embassy comes after years of low points in Israel-Slovenia relations, Sa’ar noted, and follows the formation of a new government in Ljubljana led by Janez Janša, considered a friend of Israel.
1+The Slovenian prime minister welcomed the announcement, writing on X: “Welcome to Ljubljana. Looking forward to a new era in Israel-Slovenia relations.” The Foreign Ministry is now working to establish the embassy as soon as possible, and the appointment will be brought before the ministerial committee for foreign service appointments and the full cabinet for approval.