Simona Kukovič, PhD, is researcher at the Centre for the Analysis of Administrative-Political Processes and Institutions, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. She is Assistant Professor, teaching the courses “Local Self-Government”, “Leadership Theory”, “Introduction to Public Administration”, “Political System of Slovenia” and “Contemporary Approaches to Management”. She is COST actions “LocRef” and “ProSEPS” member. She was visiting researcher at De Montfort University Leicester, Local Governance Research Unit in 2015 and Alexander Dubček University Trenčin, Slovakia, in 2016. She is also Teacher Tutor at joint CoDe Master programme in Comparative Local Development. She is assistant editor of Journal of Comparative Politics. Her work deals primarily with issues of local political leadership, local (self-)government and local democracy. Her research interests include public (political and administrative) leadership, comparative local government systems, public administration, and administrative and political processes and institutions.