Slovenia elects first black mayor in Eastern Europe

[Behind the Aegis]

Peter Bossman, 54, became mayor of the picturesque seaside city of Piran in the second round of local elections after beating the center-right incumbent, according to preliminary results.

A doctor from Ghana was voted in as mayor of a Slovenian city on Sunday, becoming the first black mayor in an eastern European country.

Peter Bossman, 54, became mayor of the picturesque seaside city of Piran in the second round of local elections after beating the center-right incumbent, according to preliminary results.

"My victory shows a high level of democracy in Slovenia," Bossman, who came to Slovenia from Ghana 33 years ago to study medicine, told Reuters. He is a member of the Social Democrats, the leading party in the centre-left government.

Bossman had aimed to return to Ghana after studies but changed his mind after marrying a fellow student of Croatian origin and getting his first job as a doctor for tourists visiting the Slovenian seaside.

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