Organisers

Peter Grk has been Secretary General of the Bled Strategic Forum since 2016. He is also the National Coordinator for the Western Balkans at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia.

With more than 20 years of experience in the diplomatic service, Peter Grk has held posts in Ankara, Copenhagen and Brussels. During Slovenia’s EU Presidency (2008), he served as Chair of the Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management (CIVCOM).

He was also posted to New York (2011) as Political Coordinator at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Slovenia to the UN and served as an advisor in the Cabinet of the Foreign Minister of Slovenia (2009 to 2011) and as Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Slovenia (2013 to 2014).

He holds a degree in political science.

Simona Leskovar has been appointed Programme Director of the Bled Strategic Forum in September 2024. Until August 2024, she was Ambassador of Slovenia to the UK and Permanent Representative to the IMO. Prior to this appointment, she was State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia.

Ambassador Leskovar is a career diplomat with 28 years of service in Slovenian diplomacy. She has served as Ambassador in Japan and Republic of Korea, Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, and in Washington DC. Ambassador Leskovar held the position of EU adviser to the Foreign Minister during the first Slovenian EU Presidency (2008). She was later Director of Young Bled Strategic Forum (2015) and National Focal Point for Responsibility-to-Protect.

She initiated the MFA programme ‘Young Ambassadors’, a mentoring project to encourage young women to consider a career in diplomacy and international relations.

Ambassador Leskovar was awarded as Diplomat of the Year from Europe 2024 for her outstanding work and achievements in London.

Nina Čepon has been with CEP for the past 16 years and has rich experience in diplomacy, developmental cooperation, and capacity-building programs.

Before assuming her current position, she was the Head of Peace & Security, working on several EU-funded projects related to capacity-building activities in civilian crisis management. During her career, she coordinated and implemented several bilateral projects of Slovenia’s official development assistance to the Western Balkans, managed regional projects, and supported the organisation of the Bled Strategic Forum.

Before joining the Centre for European Perspective, she worked shortly at the UNDP in Bosnia and Herzegovina and during her studies at the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She holds a master’s degree in European and International Affairs.

Ms Čepon is one of Slovenia’s top peace & security experts and practitioners and her professional networks extend far beyond Slovenia’s borders.