Anti-globalisation protesters pelted World Bank President James Wolfensohn with paint on Wednesday after a ceremony marking Slovenia's graduation from World Bank borrower to donor.
The small Alpine state that broke away from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 became one of the World Bank's 28 donor countries on Wednesday and the first European transition country to meet the required economic system and GDP per capita criteria.
While Wolfensohn and Slovenian Finance Minister Dusan Mramor were leaving a news conference after the ceremony, anti-globalisation protesters threw paint bombs at them, hitting both in the head. Neither was injured and they cleaned up quickly.
"This is an unfortunate situation but it nevertheless shows the democratic development of Slovenia," the country's Prime Minister Anton Rop said after apologising to Wolfensohn.
Slovenia is one of 10, mostly eastern European, states due to enter the European Union in May. It became a member of the World Bank in 1993.