Alenka Bratušek was born in Celje in 1970. She graduated from Secondary School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Celje, and later on graduated from University in Ljubljana’s Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology in 1994, and in 2006 obtained a master's degree in the field of non-profit management organizations at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana.

In 1995, she began working at the Ministry of Economy, where, among other assignments, she participated in forming a network for promoting small businesses.

From 1999 to 2011 she was employed at the Ministry of Finance. In 2006 she was appointed as Director General of the Budget Directorate. She was responsible for the state budget, financing of local communities and drawing European funds. In the years 2007 and 2008, she participated in preparations for Slovenia's presidency of the Council of the European Union, leading the budget subgroup.

In the early elections to the National Assembly in 2011, she was elected as a member of the National Assembly and as an expert on public finances she took over the leadership of the Commission for the Control of Public Finances.

In the years 2013-2014, she was the first woman in the country’s history to obtain the position of Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia.

In the years 2014-2018, she was a member of the National Assembly, and in 2018 she was took over the leadership of Ministry of Infrastructure.

From 2021 to 2022, until she assumed the position of State Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure, she continued her work as a member of the National Assembly.