Marta Ciraj PhD, Director

CV

Dr. Marta Ciraj was born on 12th February 1956 in Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia. She is a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia with permanent residence in Gmajnica 93, 1218 Komenda. Marta Ciraj attended both the primary and grammar schools in Ravne na Koroškem, and passed her final grammar schools exams in 1974. Later she studied at the Biotechnical Faculty - agriculture (arable farming), and graduated with honours in 1979.  In 1985, she received training at the German Biological Institute in Braunschweig. Marta Ciraj later continued her master’s degree in phytomedicine, with focus on herbology in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina because at the time Slovenia did not have these studies in place, and finished it in 1982.  Between 1992 and 1995, she completed her doctoral level of studies again at the Biotechnical Faculty in Ljubljana, this time around exploring ecological impacts of certain sulphonylurea herbicides. In 1979, she got employed within Agrotehnika Gruda company, while in 1983 she found employment as a consultant for arable farming and plant protection at the Agricultural Institute in Ljubljana. In the period of 1984 and 1988, she accompanied her spouse on his diplomatic mission to Graz, Austria, and later resumed her professional work at the Agricultural Institute in Ljubljana until 1993 at which time the Government of the Republic of Slovenia appointed her as the chief agricultural inspector. When three inspectorates - those for agriculture, forestry, hunting and fisheries - were integrated into a single one, she consequently became the chief inspector for this new comprehensive inspectorate. In 1996, she was nominated for the state undersecretary at the Ministry of Health charged with the task to regulate dangerous substances. When in 1999 the Chemicals Act and the Chemical Weapons Act were enacted and the National Chemicals Bureau established, she was appointed as the first director of the Bureau and as the first permanent Slovene representative at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. What is more, she also participated in 2 working areas aiming at Slovenia’s accession into the EU. In 2001, she was nominated for a state secretary and was, until assuming directorship of the National Chemicals Bureau, in charge of one of the Bureaus’ sectors. Marta Ciraj is married and is a mother of 4 children.

Education:

• 1962-70 – Primary school Ravne na Koroškem, Slovenia
• 1970-74 – Secondary school Ravne na Koroškem, Slovenia
• 1974-79 – Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, agriculture, graduate thesis: Soybean in the highlands of Slovenia 
• 1979-82 – University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Arable Farming, masters degree: Herbicides in soybean
• 1985 – Professional further education at  Bundes Biologische Anstalt, Braunschweig
• 1992-95 – Biotechnical Faculty at the University of Ljubljana, doctoral studies: Ecological consequences of use of recent herbicides
• 29.5.1995 – doctoral degree at the University of Ljubljana 

Command of Foreign Languages:
• active: English, German
• passive: French, Croatian, Serbian

Career and professional path:

• 1979 - 1982 – consultant for safe purchase and use of plant protection products at Agrotehnika Gruda Ljubljana 
• 1983 - 1984 – specialist for arable farming at the Agricultural Institute in Ljubljana 
• 1984 - 1988 – escorting her husband diplomat on his diplomatic mission in Graz, Austria 
• 1988 - 1993 – specialist for safety of plants at the Agricultural Institute of Ljubljana
• 1993 - 1994 – chief state inspector for agriculture,
• 1994 - 1996 - chief state inspector for agriculture, forestry, hunting and fisheries at the Ministry of the Republic of Slovenia for Agriculture, Forestry and Food 
• 1996 - 1999 – state undersecretary -  head of Sector for health ecology at the Ministry of Health
• 1999 - 2001 – director of the National Chemicals Bureau
• 2001 - 2004 – state undersecretary  - head of sector for risk assessment and monitoring within the National Chemicals Bureau 
• 2004 - 2005 - secretary – head of sector  for risk assessment and monitoring within the National Chemicals Bureau 
Significant memberships in relation to the national administration:
• 1993 - 1996 – representative of the Republic of Slovenia in EPPO Paris (European Plant Protection Organisation),
• 1996 - 2004 – representative of examination committee for professional examinations within the national administration,
• 1997 - 2002 – permanent representative of the Republic of Slovenia in the OPCW in the Hague,
• 1999 - 2001 – president of the Intersectoral  Working Group in the Republic of Slovenia for implementing the Convention on Chemical Weapons,
• 1999 - 2001 – representative of the RS in 2 working groups charged with transposing the Acquis into the Slovene legislation (1 -free flow of goods, and 22-the environment)  in relation to chemicals,
• 2001 - 2006 representative of the Government of RS in the Council of the Health protection Institute, Ljubljana, 
• 2001 -  representative of the Republic of Slovenia in OECD Pesticide Working Group,
• 2003 - 2006 representative of the  Republic of Slovenia in efforts to prepare  SAICM (Strategic approach to international chemical management) in the framework of UNEP,
• 2003 - 2006 member of Standing Committee of Intergovernmental Forum for Chemical Safety,
• 2006 – representative of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia  and  president of the Management Board of the Forestry Institute of Slovenia,
• 2006 – representative of the Government  and chairperson of the Council of Health Protection Institute, Ljubljana,
• 2006 – representative of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in the Management Board for Quick Start Programme for implementing SAICM  with headquarters in Geneva,
• 2007 – deputy chairperson of the Intergovernmental Forum for Chemical Safety for Central and Eastern Europe,
• 2007 – member of the Management Board of the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, Finland.

Significant memberships and recognitions:

• 1987 – honorary member of Austrian association of Stirian Artists
1997 – silver recognition from the Society for Plant Protection in Slovenia for her endeavours aimed at plant protection 

Hobbies, sport:

Marta Ciraj enjoys hiking in the mountains and cycling in her leisure time as well as carrying out community work. Since 1999 she has been running a charity foundation Peter Pavel Glavar in Komenda that annually provides scholarships to 11 young talented and socially vulnerable inhabitants of the municipality of Komenda. What is more, she served 2 terms (until elections in 2006) as a municipal councillor in her municipality where she has been running and participating in a number of projects.