Early Years

Born and raised in Sevnica, Slovenia to a family of communist background in early 1970s, Melania spent her whole childhood in this small and beautiful village which located on the left bank of the Sava River in central Slovenia.

According to a report from the Daily Mail published on October 29, a document from the Slovenian State Archives shows, Melania’s father Viktor Knavs was a listed member of the League of Communists. In the report, it is also said that one relative in the village told that Viktor was in the Party which helped you to get government jobs or higher positions. Based on the Daily Mail’s own assumption, it is clear that Viktor’s political affiliation largely helped the whole family hold down solid jobs at the state-owned children's clothing manufacturer Jutranjka, which, with 1,200 workers, was the town's best employer. Also, Viktor was able to use his privilege in the party to access goods that other people did not have access to.

Melania, together with her little sister, attended local elementary school and high school before the family moved out of the village to the capital Ljubjana. At the age of 15, the family rented a flat in Ljubjana and Melania attended a technical high school to continue her education there. An article from the New York Post reveals that Melania worked hard studying industrial design and her determination finally paid off - she was accepted at the University of Ljubljana to study architecture. “She always had higher goals than the rest of us and more ambition. Her goal was to leave Sevnica for Ljubljana and to go abroad,” her childhood friend Nena Bedek told the Daily Mail, “Melania and I always sat next to each other in school. She was quiet and wholesome but more talkative than her sister who was shy.”