Tatjana Bobnar, newly appointed as chief of the Slovenian police, poses for a picture in Ljubljana, Slovenia, October 18, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia has appointed its first female national police chief after naming its first female army head last month, becoming one of the few countries whose police or army are headed by women.

Tatjana Bobnar will start her five-year-mandate as police general director on Wednesday, replacing Simon Velicki, the government said.

The change follows the installment of Prime Minister Marjan Sarec’s new center-left government after a general election in June.

Last month the government appointed Major General Alenka Ermenc as Slovenia’s first female chief of the army.

Bobnar, 49, has been working for the police since 1993 and has been deputy general director since 2009.