Davorin Kračun was born in Maribor on 31 October 1950. He received his undergraduate degree in economy in Maribor in 1974, and his master’s degree (1978) and doctorate (1981) in economics at the University of Zagreb.
He started teaching and scientific research on economics in 1974 as an assistant at the High Economic and Commercial School (now the Economic and Business Faculty of the University of Maribor). In 1982 he was elected to the title of assistant professor, in 1987 associate professor, and in 1995 he was awarded the title of full professor. In the period 1983-1987 he was the Vice Dean of the Faculty.
In the Government of the Republic of Slovenia Professor Kračun has held the offices of Minister of Foreign Affairs (1996-1997), Minister of Economic Relations and Development, and Deputy Prime Minister (1993-1995) and Minister of Planning (1992-1993). Among his other positions he was the President of the Economic Council of the Government (1995-1997), Member of the Council of the National Bank of Slovenia (1986-1991), and Member of the Governing Board of the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia (1988-1992). Within the government he has been responsible for coordinating macroeconomic stabilization and preparing a development strategy, ownership transformation of enterprises, accession to GATT and WTO, bilateral economic agreements, and coordination of economic policies.
In the years 2000-2004 he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia to the United States of America and Mexico (based in Washington D.C.).
Upon his return to Slovenia, he was again employed at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Maribor as a professor of economic theory and policy. He was Head of the Chair of Political Economy, Head of the Institute for Economic Diagnosis and Prognosis, President of the Academic Assembly of the Faculty, and Acting Dean of the Faculty. He also pursued his educational work at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Maribor, and was in charge of the course on Economic Diplomacy in the postgraduate syllabus of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana.
His bibliography (COBISS) consists of over 500 entries, including scientific and professional articles and monographs, university textbooks, research reports, invited lectures at universities around the world, contributions to conferences, discussions, and comments. Professor Dr Kračun was also the author and host of an educational series on national TV. In addition to scientific research on economics, it is also worth mentioning his engagement in corporate governance (as president of supervisory boards), in ensuring the quality of higher education, and in foreign policy (Member of the Strategic Council of the Republic of Slovenia for Foreign Policy, member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Vocational Training Council).
He was elected President of the Fiscal Council on 21 March 2017.