Jože Novak is a landscape architecture graduate. Throughout his career, he has worked in many fields related to spatial planning and landscape design. Among other roles, he was Director of the Institute for Spatial Planning of the Republic of Slovenia, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and Director of the Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia. He was the Chairman of the Management Board of Imos Holding d.d. and the Project Director of the new housing and business development Unipark Ljubljana. At the Ministry of Finance, he was the project manager overseeing the real estate taxation system’s reform. Until his appointment as State Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning, he worked in the Spatial and Technical Project Preparation Division of DRI Investment Management, Company for the Development of Infrastructure, d.o.o. In his capacity as State Secretary, he actively cooperates with the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Post-Flood and Landslide Reconstruction, where his knowledge and experience make an important contribution to the formulation of measures and solutions in areas falling within the Ministry's remit. Jože Novak is a recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Association of Landscape Architects of Slovenia.