Peter Bossman
Encyclopedia
Peter Bossman is a Ghana
ian-born Slovenia
n doctor
and politician
. He is currently serving as mayor
of Piran
, a city and municipality in Slovenian Istria
in south-western Slovenia. A member of the centre-left Social Democrats
, he defeated the incumbent mayor Tomaž Gantar in the October 2010 mayoral election to become Slovenia's first black mayor. In 2011 he was also appointed to the Committee of the Regions
of the European Union
.
, the capital of Ghana's modern-day Volta Region
, on 2 November 1955. Ho was then the capital of British Togoland
, a League of Nations
Class B mandate that would become part of the Gold Coast
, a British
Crown colony
, in 1956. The Gold Coast would subsequently gain independence as Ghana in 1957. Bossman came from a relatively well-off family. His father was a politician, as well as a friend and personal physician of Kwame Nkrumah
, Ghana's leader from independence. Bossman spent much of his early life in North Africa
, Switzerland
and the United Kingdom
, where his father helped found Ghanaian embassies.
Following a 1966 coup that saw members of the National Liberation Council
overthrow Nkrumah's elected government, Bossman was forced to leave Ghana. He was unable to come to Britain, where he had originally hoped to study, and so chose to come to Yugoslavia
, originally hoping to study in Belgrade
. He was ultimately sent to Ljubljana
, however, arriving as a medical student in what was then the Socialist Republic of Slovenia
, within Yugoslavia, in 1977. He has said that he "fell in love" with Slovenia when he arrived, finding it "clean and green". While he was studying, he remained politically active, heading an African students' organisation.
His original intention to return to Ghana upon completing his studies was disrupted when he fell in love with a Croatian
woman, Karmen Laković, a fellow student. After completing his studies, he and Karmen, also a doctor, settled in Piran, where they run a private practice
. They are now married and have two daughters.
Bossman's campaign focused on encouraging people to drive electric car
s, building a golf course
to promote tourism
, and promoting local products. He has also pledged to work to try to improve Croatia–Slovenia relations
, which have been recently strained over a number of minor border disputes. Bossman has stated that race was not much of an issue during the election, although he did receive criticism on account of his supposed lack of fluency in Slovene. He has stated that a friend, a professor of Slovene, has offered to give him additional lessons.
Bossman officially took office at the first (constitutional) meeting of the municipal council on 12 November 2010. His inauguration as mayor attracted more members of the media, including international media, than there were council members present.
(although Slovenia as a part of Yugoslavia was only part of the Eastern Bloc
briefly until creation of NAM
). He has also been widely compared to U.S. President
Barack Obama
, being dubbed by the media as the 'Obama of Piran'. Bossman has, however, insisted he has no political ambitions beyond the mayoralty, having stated that he intends to return to medicine upon leaving office.
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian-born Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He is currently serving as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Piran
Piran
Piran is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give...
, a city and municipality in Slovenian Istria
Slovenian Istria
Slovenian Istria often called Obala in Slovene is a region in southwest of Slovenia. It comprises the northern part of the Istrian peninsula, and it is part of the wider geographical-historical region known as the Slovenian Littoral . Its largest urban center is Koper. Other larger settlements...
in south-western Slovenia. A member of the centre-left Social Democrats
Social Democrats (Slovenia)
The Social Democrats is a centre-left political party in Slovenia, currently led by Borut Pahor. From 1993 until 2005, the party was known as the United List of Social Democrats .-Origins:...
, he defeated the incumbent mayor Tomaž Gantar in the October 2010 mayoral election to become Slovenia's first black mayor. In 2011 he was also appointed to the Committee of the Regions
Committee of the Regions
The Committee of the Regions is European Union's assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities with a direct voice within the EU's institutional framework....
of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Early life and family
Bossman was born in Nyive, a small place near HoHo, Ghana
Ho is a town in southeast Ghana and is the capital of the Volta Region. It lies between Mount Adaklu and Mount Galenukui , and is home to a museum, a cathedral and a large prison...
, the capital of Ghana's modern-day Volta Region
Volta Region
Volta Region is one of Ghana's ten administrative regions. It is to the east of Lake Volta. Its capital is Ho.-List of districts:The region has 18 districts consisting of 3 municipal and 15 ordinary districts:-Background:...
, on 2 November 1955. Ho was then the capital of British Togoland
British Togoland
British Togoland was a League of Nations Class B mandate in West Africa, under the mandatory power of the United Kingdom. It was effectively formed in 1916 by the splitting of the occupied German protectorate of Togoland into two territories, French Togoland and British Togoland, during the First...
, a League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
Class B mandate that would become part of the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
, a British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
Crown colony
Crown colony
A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....
, in 1956. The Gold Coast would subsequently gain independence as Ghana in 1957. Bossman came from a relatively well-off family. His father was a politician, as well as a friend and personal physician of Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
, Ghana's leader from independence. Bossman spent much of his early life in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where his father helped found Ghanaian embassies.
Following a 1966 coup that saw members of the National Liberation Council
National Liberation Council
The National Liberation Council was the name of the Ghanaian government after the elected government of the Convention Peoples' Party led by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown on February 24, 1966. This government was in place till they handed over to a democratically elected government on October...
overthrow Nkrumah's elected government, Bossman was forced to leave Ghana. He was unable to come to Britain, where he had originally hoped to study, and so chose to come to Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, originally hoping to study in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. He was ultimately sent to Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, however, arriving as a medical student in what was then the Socialist Republic of Slovenia
Socialist Republic of Slovenia
The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1943 until 1990...
, within Yugoslavia, in 1977. He has said that he "fell in love" with Slovenia when he arrived, finding it "clean and green". While he was studying, he remained politically active, heading an African students' organisation.
His original intention to return to Ghana upon completing his studies was disrupted when he fell in love with a Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
woman, Karmen Laković, a fellow student. After completing his studies, he and Karmen, also a doctor, settled in Piran, where they run a private practice
Medical practice
A medical practice or practice of medicine is the practice of medicine, as performed by a medical practitioner—a physician...
. They are now married and have two daughters.
Politics
Bossman, previously a member of the Piran City Council, successfully ran for mayor in 2010, narrowly defeating his opponent, the incumbent independent centre-right mayor Tomaž Gantar. In the run-off election on 24 October, he achieved 51.4% of the vote, defeating Gantar, who got 48.4%. Unofficial figures following the counting of all ballots showed Bossman with 3418 votes, 185 more votes than the 3233 cast for Gantar. The relatively low turnout, 44% of all voters, was deplored by both candidates.Bossman's campaign focused on encouraging people to drive electric car
Electric car
An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...
s, building a golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
to promote tourism
Tourism in Slovenia
The Central European nation of Slovenia offers tourists a wide variety of landscapes in a small space: Alpine in the northwest, Mediterranean in the southwest, Pannonian in the northeast and Dinaric in the southeast....
, and promoting local products. He has also pledged to work to try to improve Croatia–Slovenia relations
Croatia–Slovenia relations
Croatian-Slovenia relations are foreign relations between Croatia and Slovenia. Before 1991, both countries were part of Yugoslavia. On June 26, 1991, a mutual recognition agreement was signed by both countries. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established on February 6, 1992. ...
, which have been recently strained over a number of minor border disputes. Bossman has stated that race was not much of an issue during the election, although he did receive criticism on account of his supposed lack of fluency in Slovene. He has stated that a friend, a professor of Slovene, has offered to give him additional lessons.
Bossman officially took office at the first (constitutional) meeting of the municipal council on 12 November 2010. His inauguration as mayor attracted more members of the media, including international media, than there were council members present.
Reaction to election
Bossman's election as mayor has attracted international attention. In addition to becoming Slovenia's first black mayor, he has also been described as being probably the first black person to become a mayor in the former Yugoslavia as well as in the former Eastern BlocEastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
(although Slovenia as a part of Yugoslavia was only part of the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
briefly until creation of NAM
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
). He has also been widely compared to U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, being dubbed by the media as the 'Obama of Piran'. Bossman has, however, insisted he has no political ambitions beyond the mayoralty, having stated that he intends to return to medicine upon leaving office.