Lieutenant General Albin Gutman

Lieutenant General Albin Gutman was born on 17 December 1947 in Novo mesto. After education at the teacher-training secondary school in Novo mesto, he graduated from the Academy of Education at the University of Ljubljana in 1985. In 1993, he obtained a specialist-level postgraduate degree from the Faculty of Social Work, in the field of management and social work in companies. Besides, he has completed the following training courses: Reserve-Officer School in Ljubljana, Army Command and Staff Academy for Brigade Commanders, Command and Staff School, General-Staff Training Programme, and Defence-Inspector Course.

He has been working in the field of defence since 1976, when he got a job in the Territorial-Defence Municipal Staff of Novo mesto. He continued his career in the Defence Secretariat of the Municipality Novo mesto, then in the Territorial-Defence Regional Staff of Dolenjska, and finally in the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia. In 1993, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces. He remained in the position of the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces until 1998. Between 1998 and 2003, he was the Chief Defence Inspector of the Republic of Slovenia. From 2003 to 2006, he worked as the Military Adviser to the Minister of Defence.

He was actively involved in preparations for the independence of the Republic of Slovenia. In the war for an independent Slovenia, he was the Territorial-Defence Commander for the Dolenjska region and the head of the coordination subgroup for Dolenjska. For his work in the defence field and for his contributions in the war for the independence of Slovenia, he was awarded the Silver Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia, the Manoeuvre Structure of National Defence (MSNZ) 1990 Badge, the Class 2 Order of General Maister with Swords, the "Defended Slovenia" Badge, the Class 1 Order of General Maister, the Gold Medal of the Slovenian Armed Forces, the Order of the Slovenian Armed Forces on a Sash, and the Gold Plaque of the Slovenian Armed Forces. He received also three Commemoration Emblems of the War for Slovenia 1991 (Poganci, Medvedjek, and Krakovski gozd) and four Commemorative Badges for Contributions in the War for Slovenia. In 1998, he was awarded the Legion of Honour of the French Republic.

He is married and has a son and a daughter.