Melania Trump’s mother Amalija Knavs dies

Donald Trump paid tribute to Melania Trump’s mother after she died at the age of 78, saying she had “gone to a beautiful place in the sky”.

Amalija Knavs, a former factory worker who grew up in Slovenia, had been battling illness in a Miami hospital over Christmas with Mrs Trump, one of her three children, at her bedside.

Mrs Trump confirmed her mother’s death on Tuesday night, saying the whole family would “miss her beyond measure”.

“Amalija Knavs was a strong woman who always carried herself with grace, warmth, and dignity,” she said. “She was entirely devoted to her husband, daughters, grandson, and son-in-law.”

Mr Trump paid his own tribute to his mother-in-law in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying her death marked a “very sad night for the entire Trump family”.

“Melania’s great and beautiful mother, Amalija, has just gone to a beautiful place in the sky,” the former president said.

“She was an incredible woman, and will be missed far beyond words!”

Melania Trump confirmed her mother’s death on Tuesday night – Douliery Olivier/ABACA/Shutterstock

Mrs Knavs was born in Austria but moved as a child with her parents to Sevnica, a rural industrial town in Slovenia which was then part of Communist-run Yugoslavia.

She had worked in a textile factory for a children’s clothing company after leaving school, where she met Viktor Knavs, the man who would become her husband and father of her children.

He worked as a chauffeur for a mayor and then became a salesman at a state-owned car manufacturer.

At a Republican rally in 2016, Mrs Trump, who changed her name from Melanija Knavs to Melania Knauss when she started modelling in Ljubljana as a teenager, paid tribute to her “hard-working” mother.

Amalija Knavs and her husband Viktor Knavs are reported to have lived at Mr Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in recent years – Carolyn Kaster/AP

My elegant and hardworking mother Amalija introduced me to fashion and beauty,” she said.

“My father, Viktor, instilled in me a passion for business and travel.

“Their integrity, compassion, and intelligence reflect to this day on me and for my love of family and America.”

Mrs Trump moved to the United States to model in 1996 and met Mr Trump two years later, marrying him in 2005.

She sponsored her parents’ immigration to the country and they took the oath of office to become citizens at a New York City courthouse in 2018, while Mr Trump was president.

They are reported to have lived at Mr Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in recent years.

Mrs Knavs’s cause of death has not been disclosed.

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