Deputy mayors
Janez Černe
On December 20, 2018, the mayor of the City of Kranj, Matjaž Rakovec, appointed Janez Černe as deputy mayor. He performs the function of deputy mayor professionally.
Janez Černe was born on December 5, 1982, in Kranj. He lived in the Planina area of the city and attended the Jakob Aljaž Primary School. He has been striving for a better tomorrow for Kranj since he was very young. After graduating, he received an award for his outstanding work in raising the reputation of the Kranj High School, which he attended.
He graduated with a degree in political science at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana.
He gained most of his professional experience in the field of marketing communication - he organized various concerts and other youth events in his youth. Later, as a producer and director, he co-created music videos, films, documentaries, and advertisements. This type of involvement eventually led him to the position of head of the entire regional production of MTV Adria, after which he became the branch director of the international network of marketing agencies JWT.
During his professional career, he also held other important positions, including head of the cabinet of a European MP and secretary in the cabinet of the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
"Kranj is my hometown, for which I feel special respect. I am convinced that the third largest Slovenian municipality deserves more. Therefore, as deputy mayor, I will actively strive for the development of Kranj and changes for the better," says Janez Černe, who was first elected to the Kranj Municipality Council in October 2006 and, at 23, was one of the youngest elected city councillors in the city's history. In the 2018 local elections, he became a city councillor for the third time.
Manja Zorko
The Mayor of City of Kranj, Matjaž Rakovec, appointed Manja Zorko as Deputy Mayor on March 1, 2023. Manja Zorko serves as Deputy Mayor in a professional capacity.
Manja Zorko was born on August 24, 1987, in Kranj. She has been living at Planina 2 in the Local Community of Bratov Smuk since birth, where she also attended the Matija Čop Primary School. She continued her education at the Kranj High School and later at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, where she graduated in European Studies.
She gained her first professional experience as an intern and later as an assistant to a Member of the European Parliament in Brussels. Her responsibilities included organizing visits of representatives of local communities to European institutions, coordinating events in the local office in Slovenia, and preparing content for sessions of the European Parliament.
Upon returning to Slovenia, she was employed as a professional collaborator at the Slovenian Youth Council, focusing on youth employment and participation. As a member of various working groups at national and European levels, she prepared positions and responses regarding measures for youth employment and paid internships aimed at improving the position of young people. She also led the European Erasmus+ project "Youth Creates" in the field of youth education for social entrepreneurship.
In 2017, she started working at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food in the Minister's Cabinet, where she served as Deputy Head of the Cabinet and later performed other tasks related to legislative procedures.
She was first elected to the City Council of City of Kranj in the local elections of 2018 and is currently serving her second term as a councilor. Since 2014, she has been active in the Council of the Local Community of Bratov Smuk, initially as Vice President and then as President in the 2018-2022 term.
"Kranj is a beautiful city, and strong local communities are its great potential. With all their peculiarities, local communities are crucial for the development of Kranj and the well-being of all our citizens. Therefore, I will strive to ensure that their desires and initiatives are heard and realized, so that together we can co-create Kranj as a city of opportunities."