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LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia appointed Major General Alenka Ermenc as chief of the army, the government said on Tuesday, making her the only woman in charge of a NATO country’s military.

Ermenc is the first woman Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian army. She takes over from her predecessor Alan Geder on Wednesday.

Ermenc has served in the army since 1991, the year Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia. She studied at the Royal College of Defense Studies and King’s College University, both in London.

Her promotion comes after a change of government in September when the centre-left Prime Minister Marjan Sarec took power following a June general election.