Jurij Gustinčič, the honorary citizen of Ljubljana, an insightful analyst of social and political activities in the world and a doyen of Slovenian journalism, has passed away at the age of 93.

He was born of Dragutin Gustinčič, one of the founders of the communist movement in the Slovenian area, and of Anica Lokar from Vipava. He was pulled amidst the of historic events since childhood. Jurij Gustinčič was born on 30 August 2014 in Trieste and spent his childhood in Vienna and Ljubljana. His family moved to Moscow in 1932, where he attended the German secondary school on his father's initiative as he believed Germany will soon experience a revolution. Gustinčič always claimed that time and place made it possible to discuss anything; you only had to find the way. Even more, he believed that everything one wants and needs to say can be said publicly in any circumstances. One cannot make excuses of censorship. The Mladina magazine column and the prologue to his book Nismo Angeli (We Are Not Angels) states: "It was only later I made certain there is no censorship, regardless of the regime, that can prevent what wants to be written, despite the disapproving authority, editors or the ideology. A journalist needs only to find a way – and survive."

Gustinčič was active in the journalistic profession for over seventy years. After the German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, he attempted joining the forces as an enthusiastic antifascist and a student of history, but was soon deployed back as he was not a citizen of the Union. He began working at the Moscow radio in the editorial department of Slovenian broadcast. Gustinčič was the editor of Slovenian broadcast at the radio in Tbilisi, Georgia from 1942 to 1943. In 1944 he joined the Yugoslav brigade organised in the Soviet Union, through Romania and took part in combat for the liberation of Serbia. After the war he worked as the state official – he stood in as an interpreter due to his language skills, and soon became a journalist for the Yugoslav newspaper, Politika. His legendary tone and especially the words of his reporting and writing personified his high regard of professionalism, vast and versatile education and cosmopolitanism. All in all, Gustinčič is a legendary personality, not only of the Slovenian, but also the Yugoslav journalism with his forty years of working as a reporter and correspondent from Prague, London and New York for a highly acclaimed newspaper around the world – the Yugoslav Politika.

Gustinčič was the personification of nobility in journalism as he was more than "just" a journalist in his intellectual foundation and defined his interests much wider. He believed there is no greater difference than the difference between journalism and literature, adding the only thing they have in common is "the use of words". It was this distinction that allowed him to express very clearly his love of art and his immense respect of art. Gustinčič was well aware of the meaning of silence in every true speech and writing, and included it one of his Mladina columns years ago: "It's high time to start thinking about when, how and how much to talk. To commit to the great art of pithiness, if not to silence. The art of silence". (Recap from the Ljubljana newsletter)

A Slovenian and a cosmopolitan, Jurij Gustinčič, a legendary journalist and a witness to world historic events, has forever embraced the silence on 7 June 2014. The City Hall has hosted the condolence session of the City of Ljubljana City Council in his memory on 10 June.

The legendary journalist and publicist, Jurij Gustinčič was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the Slovenian capital in 2013. He received the highest recognition of Ljubljana as "an expression of deepest respect to his body of messages and insightful commentary created by the cosmopolitan erudite for more than seven decades, who expands our knowledge and understanding of the social and political activity at home and abroad." Ljubljana sincerely appreciates the journalist's high culture of reporting from all corners of the world, which has set the highest, almost unreachable standard to the Slovenian journalism. Jurij Gustinčič's body of work is recognised by universal insights, judicious analyses and picturesque interpretations of events and conditions in Slovenia, Europe and the world, which are uniquely enriched by the authors vast life and work experiences, his wide cultural education and sophistication and high professional ethics."