Miroslav Cerar | |
Discipline: | MAG |
Birth Date: | 28 October 1939 |
Birth Place: | Ljubljana, Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
Residence: | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
Height: | 1.72 m |
Weight: | 73 kg |
Show-Medals: | yes |
Miroslav Cerar (in Slovenian pronounced as /ˈmíːrɔslaw ˈtsɛ̀ːrar/;[1] born 28 October 1939) is a Yugoslav former gymnast and lawyer of Slovene ethnicity who won the pommel horse event at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. He also won three world and nine European championships.[2]
Domestically, Cerar won 13 national titles and was chosen eight times as Yugoslavia's Athlete of the Year. He was awarded the Olympic Order in Silver by the International Olympic Committee. He was member of the Slovenian Olympic Academy, the Fair Play Commission of the Slovenian Olympic Committee, and the executive committee of the European Fair Play Movement.[2]
Cerar was married to Zdenka Cerar (née Prusnik), who was the first female State Prosecutor General of the Republic of Slovenia (1999–2004), Minister of Justice (2004) and vice-president of the LDS. In her youth she was twice Youth Champion in gymnastics in Yugoslavia and a member of the Yugoslav team. After she ended her active career, she became a coach and referee.[3]
Cerar was a student of law and a lawyer for many years. His son Miro Cerar is also a lawyer, and a politician. He was Slovenia's prime minister and head of the SMC party.[4]
In 1999 Cerar was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame,[5] and in 2011 into the Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame[6]