Politics of Croatia
Encyclopedia
The politics of Croatia are defined by a parliamentary
representative democratic
republic
framework, where the Prime Minister of Croatia is the head of government
, in a multi-party system
. Executive power
is exercised by the government and the President of Croatia
. Legislative power is vested in the Croatian Parliament . The Judiciary
is independent of the executive and the legislature. The parliament adopted the current Constitution of Croatia
on 22 December 1990, and decided to declare independence from Yugoslavia
. The declaration of independence came into effect on 8 October 1991. The constitution was amended several times since then. The first modern parties in the country developed in the middle of the 19th century, and their agenda and appeal changed reflecting major social changes—breakup of Austria-Hungary
and formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Dictatorship and social upheavals in the kingdom, World War II
, establishment of Communist rule and breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia.
The President of the Republic is the head of state
, directly elected to a five-year term and the commander in chief of the Croatian armed forces
. The government
, the main executive power
of Croatia, is headed by the prime minister, who has six deputy chairmen, four of whom also serve as government ministers in addition to 12 other ministers, in charge of particular activities. The executive branch is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign
and internal policies. The parliament
is a unicameral legislative body. The number of Sabor representatives ranges from 100 to 160; they are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The powers of the legislature include enactment and amendment of the constitution and laws; adoption of the government budget
; declarations of war and peace; defining national boundaries; calling referendum
s; elections, appointments, and relief of officers; supervising the Government of Croatia and other holders of public powers responsible
to the Sabor; and granting amnesty. Croatian constitution and legislation provide for regular elections for the office of the president of the republic, the parliament, county prefects and assemblies, as well as city and municipal mayors and councils.
Croatia has a three-tiered, independent judicial system governed by the Constitution of Croatia
and national legislation enacted by Sabor. The Supreme Court
is the highest court of appeal in Croatia. There are other specialised courts in Croatia—commercial courts and the Superior Commercial Court, misdemeanour courts, the Superior Misdemeanour Court, the Administrative Court and the Croatian Constitutional Court
. State Attorney's Office represents the state in legal procedures.
in 1990, replacing the 1974 constitution adopted by the Socialist Republic of Croatia
and organised its first multi-party elections
. The 1990 constitution still remains in force, however it was amended four times since its adoption—in 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2010. It declared independence
on 8 October 1991 leading to the breakup of Yugoslavia and the country was internationally recognised by the United Nations in 1992. Under its 1990 constitution, Croatia operated a semi-presidential system
until 2000 when it switched to a parliamentary system
. Government powers in Croatia are divided into legislative, executive and judiciary powers. The legal system of Croatia is civil law
, strongly influenced, as is the institutional framework, by the legal heritage of Austria-Hungary. By the time EU accession negotiations
were completed on 30 June 2010, Croatian legislation was fully harmonised with the Community acquis.
, directly elected to a five-year term and is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of two terms. In addition to being the commander in chief of the armed forces
, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the prime minister with the consent of the Sabor (Parliament) through a simple majority vote, and the President has some influence on foreign policy. The most recent presidential elections were held on 10 January 2010, when Ivo Josipović
won. He took the oath of office
on 18 February 2010. Besides limiting holders of the presidential office to two terms, the constitution also prevents the president from being a member of any political party. Consequently, the president-elect withdraws from party membership before inauguration. President Josipović did so on 15 February 2010.
The government
, the main executive power of the Croatian state, is headed by the prime minister, who has six deputy chairmen, four of whom also serve as government ministers and 12 other ministers, appointed by the prime minister with the consent of the Sabor, in charge of particular sectors of activity. As of 2011, Deputy Prime Ministers are Petar Čobanković
, Gordan Jandroković
, Darko Milinović
, Domagoj Ivan Milošević, Božidar Pankretić and Slobodan Uzelac
. Government ministers are from the Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ) and the Croatian Peasant Party
(HSS). Government ministers are members of the Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ), the Croatian Peasant Party
(HSS) or independent, and a deputy PM is a member of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS). The executive branch
is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign
and internal policies of the republic. Government's official residence
is at Banski dvori
. Since 1 July 2009, the prime minister of the government has been Jadranka Kosor
.
|President
|Ivo Josipović
|Social Democratic Party
|18 February 2010
|-
|Prime Minister
|Jadranka Kosor
|Croatian Democratic Union
|6 July 2009
|}
is a unicameral legislative body. A second chamber, the Chamber of Counties , was set up in 1993 pursuant to the 1990 Constitution. The Chamber of Counties used to be composed of three deputies from each of the 20 counties and the city of Zagreb
. However, as it had no practical power over the Chamber of Representatives, in 2001 it was abolished and its powers transferred directly to the county governments. The number of Sabor representatives can vary from 100 to 160; they are all elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. 140 members are elected in multi-seat constituencies, up to 6 members chosen by proportional representation
to represent Croatians residing abroad and 5 members represent ethnic and national communities or minorities. The two largest political parties in Croatia are the Croatian Democratic Union
and the Social Democratic Party of Croatia
. The last parliamentary elections were held on 25 November 2007 in Croatia and on 24 November and 25 November 2007 abroad. The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 4 December 2011.
The Sabor meets in public sessions in two periods: January 15 to June 30, and September 15 to December 15. Extra sessions can be called by the President of the Republic, by the President of the Parliament or by Government. The powers of the legislature include enactment and amendment of the constitution; passage of laws; adoption of the state budget; declarations of war and peace; alteration of the boundaries of the Republic; calling referendums; carrying out elections, appointments, and relief of office; supervising the work of the Government of Croatia and other holders of public powers responsible to the Sabor; and granting amnesty. Decisions are made based on a majority vote if more than half of the Chamber is present, except in cases of constitutional issues.
round is held in case no candidate secures the majority in the first round of voting. The presidential elections are regulated by the constitution and dedicated legislation, however the latter defines technical details, appeals and similar issues only.
140 members of the parliament are elected to a four-year term in ten multi-seat constituencies. The constituencies are defined on the basis of the existing county borders, with necessary amendments to achieve uniform number of eligible voters in each constituency to within 5% variation. Another constituency is defined for citizens of Croatia living abroad, however its number of seats was not fixed for the last parliamentary election. It was instead calculated based on numbers of votes cast in the ten constituencies in Croatia and the votes cast in the 11th constituency, set up for those living outside Croatia. In the 2007 parliamentary election
the constituency elected five MPs. Recent constitutional changes have abolished the scheme and assigned permanently three MPs to the 11th constituency. Additional eight members of the parliament are elected by voters belonging to 22 recognized minorities in Croatia: Serb minority
elects three MPs, Hungarians
and Italians
elect one MP each, Czech and Slovak minorities elect one MP jointly, while all other minorities elect two more MPs to the parliament. Standard D'Hondt formula
is applied to the vote, with a 5% election threshold
. The last parliamentary election, held in 2007 elected 153 MPs, and the next one, scheduled for December 2011, shall elect 151.
The county prefects, city and municipal mayors are elected to four-year terms, by majority of votes cast within applicable local government units, with a runoff election if no candidate achieves majority in the first round of voting. Members of county, city and municipal councils are elected to four-year terms, through proportional representation
with the entire local government unit as a single constituency. Number of members of the councils is defined by the councils themselves based on applicable legislation. Electoral committees are then tasked with determining whether the national minorities are represented in the council as required by the constitution, adding further members to the council, who belong to the appropriate minorities, selecting them from electoral candidate lists and who have not been elected through the proportional representation system.
and national legislation enacted by Sabor. The Supreme Court
is the highest court of appeal in Croatia. The Supreme Court hearings are open, and judgments are made publicly, except in issues of privacy of the accused. Judges are appointed by the National Judicial Council and judicial office is permanent (until seventy years of age). The President of the Supreme Court is elected for a four-year term by the Croatian Parliament at the proposal of the President of the Republic. The Supreme Court has civil and criminal departments and the president of the Supreme Court is Branko Hrvatin. The lower two levels of the three-tiered judiciary consist of county courts and municipal courts. There are fifteen county courts in and 67 municipal courts in the country.
Furthermore there are other specialised courts in Croatia. They comprise commercial courts and the Superior Commercial Court, misdemeanour courts, the Superior Misdemeanour Court, the Administrative Court and the Croatian Constitutional Court
. The Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding compliance of legislation with the constitution and repeals unconstitutional legislation, reports any breaches of provisions of the constitution to the government and the parliament, declares the speaker of the parliament acting president upon petition from the government in cases of incapacitation of the president, issues consent to commencement of criminal procedures against or arrest of the president, hears appeals against decisions of the National Judicial Council. The court consists of thirteen judges elected by members of the parliament for an eight-year term. The president of the Constitutional Court is elected by the court judges for a four-year term. President of the Constitutional Court of Croatia is Jasna Omejec. The National Judicial Council appoints all judges and court presidents, except in case of the Supreme Court. It is a body consisting of eleven members, specifically seven judges, two university professors of law and two parliament members, nominated and elected by the Parliament for four-year terms, and no more than two terms. President of the National Judicial Council is Ranko Marijan, who is also a Supreme Court judge.
State Attorney's Office represents the state in legal procedures. Mladen Bajić
is the General State Attorney, and there are 23 deputies in the central office and lower-ranking State Attorneys at 15 county and 33 municipal State Attorney's Offices. The General State Attorney is appointed by the parliament. A special State Attorney's Office dedicated to combatting corruption and organized crime, USKOK
, was set up in late 2001.
. The divisions changed over time to reflect losses of territory to Ottoman conquest and subsequent liberation of the same territory, changes of political status of Dalmatia, Dubrovnik and Istria
. Traditional division of the country into counties was abolished in the 1920s, when the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and subsequent Kingdom of Yugoslavia introduced oblast
s and banovinas
respectively. Communist ruled Croatia, as a constituent part of post-WWII Yugoslavia, abolished earlier divisions and introduced municipalities, subdividing Croatia into approximately one hundred municipalities. Counties were reintroduced in 1992 legislation, significantly altered in terms of territory relative to the pre-1920s subdivisions: In 1918, the Transleithanian part of Croatia was divided into eight counties with their seats in Bjelovar, Gospić, Ogulin, Požega, Vukovar, Varaždin, Osijek and Zagreb, and the 1992 legislation established 15 counties in the same territory. Since the counties were re-established in 1992, Croatia is divided into 20 counties and the capital city of Zagreb, the latter having the authority and legal status of a county and a city at the same time. Borders of the counties changed in some instances since, with the latest revision taking place in 2006. The counties subdivide into 127 cities and 429 municipalities
.
The county
prefect
s, city and municipal
mayors are elected to four-year terms, by majority of votes cast within applicable local government units
, with a runoff election
if no candidate achieves majority in the first round of voting. Members of county, city and municipal councils are elected to four-year terms, through proportional representation
with the entire local government unit as a single constituency. Number of members of the councils is defined by the councils themselves based on applicable legislation. Electoral committees are then tasked with determining whether the national minorities are represented in the council as required by the constitution
, adding further members to the council, who belong to the appropriate minorities, selecting them from electoral candidate lists and who have not been elected through the proportional representation
system. Election silence, as in all other types of elections in Croatia, is enforced on the day of the elections and the previous day, ending at 7 in the evening, which is the time when the polling stations close and exit polls may be announced. Out of six nationwide local elections held in Croatia since 1990, the most recent were the 2009 local elections
to elect county prefects and councils, as well as city and municipal councils and mayors. At that occasion HDZ-led coalitions won majority
or plurality in 15 county councils, and 13 county prefect elections. SDP-led coalitions won majority or plurality in five county councils, including the city of Zagreb council, and the single remaining county council election was won by IDS-SDP coalition. The SDP won four county prefect elections and the city of Zagreb mayoral election, the HSS won three county prefect elections, and the HNS and the HDSSB won a single county prefect election each.
Events of 1848
in Europe and in in the Austrian Empire
represent a watershed in Croatian society and politics, as it symbolizes the Croatian national revival that strongly influenced and significantly shaped political and social events in Croatia from that point onwards to the end of the 20th century. At the time, Sabor and Ban Josip Jelačić
advocated implicit severance of ties with the Kingdom of Hungary
, emphasizing links to other South Slavic
lands within the empire. In the period, several prominent Croatian political figures emerged, such as Ante Starčević
, Eugen Kvaternik
, Franjo Rački
and Josip Juraj Strossmayer
. A period of neo-absolutism was followed by Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and Croatian–Hungarian Settlement recognizing limited independence of Croatia. This was compounded by Croatian claims of uninterrupted statehood since the early Middle Ages
as a basis for a modern state. Two political parties that evolved in the 1860s and contributed significantly to the sentiment were the Party of Rights
led by Starčević and Kvaternik, and the People's Party
led by Janko Drašković
, Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski
, Josip Juraj Strossmayer
and Ivan Mažuranić
. They were opposed by the National Constitutional Party who were in power for most of the period between the 1860s and the 1918, advocating closer ties between Croatia and Hungary. Other significant parties formed in the era were the Serb People's Independent Party
, who would later form the Croat-Serb Coalition
with the Party of Rights and other Croat and Serb parties. The Coalition ruled Croatia between 1903 and 1918. Leaders of the Coalition were Frano Supilo
and Svetozar Pribićević
. Croatian Peasant Party
(HSS), established in 1904 and led by Stjepan Radić
, advocated Croatian autonomy but achieved only moderate gains by 1918. In Dalmatia
, two major parties were the People's Party
, a branch of the People's Party active in Croatia-Slavonia and the Autonomist Party
, advocating maintaining autonomy of Dalmatia, opposite to the People's Party demands for unification of Croatia-Slavonia and Dalmatia. The Autonomist Party, most notably led by Antonio Bajamonti
, was also linked to Italian irredentism. By 1900s, the Party of Rights also made considerable gains in Dalmatia. The Autonomists won the first three elections, while all others since 1870 were won by the People's Party. In 1861–1918 there were 17 elections in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
and 10 in the Kingdom of Dalmatia
.
defining the country as a unitary state
and abolition of historical administrative divisions effectively ended Croatian autonomy and it was opposed by HSS. The political situation deteriorated further as Stjepan Radić of HSS was assassinated in National Assembly in 1928, leading to the dictatorship
of King Alexander
in January 1929. The HSS, now led by Vladko Maček
, continued to advocate federalization of Yugoslavia, resulting in the Cvetković–Maček Agreement of August 1939 and the autonomous Banovina of Croatia
. The Yugoslav government retained control of defence, internal security, foreign affairs, trade, and transport while other matters were left to the Croatian Sabor and a crown-appointed Ban. The establishment was soon made obsolete with beginning of the World War II
, establishment of the Independent State of Croatia
which banned all political opposition. Since then, the HSS continues to operate abroad. After the war, the Communists ran unopposed in elections of 1945 as other parties abstained. Once in power, the Communists introduced a single-party political system, with the Communist Party of Yugoslavia as the ruling party and the Communist Party of Croatia as its branch. In 1971, Croatian national movement seeking greater civil rights and decentralization of the Yugoslav economy, culminated as Croatian Spring
, suppressed by Yugoslav leadership. In January 1990, the Communist Party fragmented along national lines, with the Croatian faction
demanding a looser federation.
In 1989, the government of the Socialist Republic of Croatia
decided to tolerate political parties in response to growing demands to allow political activities outside the Communist party. The first political party founded in Croatia since beginning of the Communist rule was the Croatian Social Liberal Party
(HSLS), established on 20 May 1989, followed by the Croatian Democratic Union
on 17 June 1989. In December, Ivica Račan
became the head of the reformed Communist party. At the same time, the party decided to cancel political trials, release political prisoners and to endorse a multi-party political system. The Civil Organisations Act was formally amended to allow political parties on 11 January 1990, legalising the parties founded until then. By the time of the first round of the first multi-party elections
, held on 22 April 1990, there were 33 registered parties. Still, the most relevant parties and coalitions were the renamed Communist party—League of Communists of Croatia - Party of Democratic Changes, the HDZ and the Coalition of People's Accord
(KNS), which included the HSLS led by Dražen Budiša
and the HSS, which resumed operating in Croatia in December 1989. The runoff election was held on 6 May 1990. Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ) led by Franjo Tuđman won ahead of the reformed Communists and the KNS. The KNS, led by once leaders of the Croatian Spring, Savka Dabčević-Kučar and Miko Tripalo
, soon splintered to individual parties. Even though the HDZ maintained a parliamentary majority until parliamentary elections of 2000
when it was defeated by the Social Democratic Party of Croatia
(SDP) led by Račan, Franjo Gregurić
was appointed Prime Minister of Croatia to head a national unity government
in July 1991 as the Croatian War of Independence
escalated in intensity and his appointment lasted until August 1992. During his term, Croatia's declaration of independence took effect on 8 October. The HDZ returned to power in elections of 2003
, while the SDP remains the largest opposition party.
Tuđman won presidential elections in 1992
and 1997
. During his reign, Constitution of Croatia
adopted in 1990 provided for a semi-presidential system
. After his death in 1999, the constitution was amended and much of the presidential powers were transferred to the parliament and the government
. Stjepan Mesić
won two consecutive terms, in 2000
on Croatian People's Party (HNS) ticket and in 2005
, the maximum permitted by the constitution. Ivo Josipović
, an SDP candidate, won the presidential elections held in December 2009 and January 2010.
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
representative democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
framework, where the Prime Minister of Croatia is the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
, in a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the government and the President of Croatia
President of Croatia
The President of Croatia , officially styled the President of the Republic represents the Republic of Croatia in the country and abroad as the head of state, maintains the regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government system, and safeguards the independence and...
. Legislative power is vested in the Croatian Parliament . The Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature. The parliament adopted the current Constitution of Croatia
Constitution of Croatia
The current Constitution of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia on December 22, 1990. It replaced the Constitution of 1974 ratified in socialist Yugoslavia...
on 22 December 1990, and decided to declare independence from Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
. The declaration of independence came into effect on 8 October 1991. The constitution was amended several times since then. The first modern parties in the country developed in the middle of the 19th century, and their agenda and appeal changed reflecting major social changes—breakup of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Dictatorship and social upheavals in the kingdom, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, establishment of Communist rule and breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia.
The President of the Republic is the head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
, directly elected to a five-year term and the commander in chief of the Croatian armed forces
Military of Croatia
Croatian military is officially called Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia and it consists of three branches:* Croatian Army * Croatian Navy...
. The government
Government of Croatia
The Government of the Republic of Croatia , commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government , is the main element of the executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the President of the Government , commonly abbreviated to premier...
, the main executive power
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
of Croatia, is headed by the prime minister, who has six deputy chairmen, four of whom also serve as government ministers in addition to 12 other ministers, in charge of particular activities. The executive branch is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign
Foreign relations of Croatia
The following page shows the foreign relations of Croatia from past history, current events, international disputes and foreign support.-History:...
and internal policies. The parliament
Parliament of Croatia
The Parliament of Croatia or the Sabor is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and legislature of the country. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, represents the people and is vested with the legislative power...
is a unicameral legislative body. The number of Sabor representatives ranges from 100 to 160; they are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The powers of the legislature include enactment and amendment of the constitution and laws; adoption of the government budget
Government budget
A government budget is a legal document that is often passed by the legislature, and approved by the chief executive-or president. For example, only certain types of revenue may be imposed and collected...
; declarations of war and peace; defining national boundaries; calling referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
s; elections, appointments, and relief of officers; supervising the Government of Croatia and other holders of public powers responsible
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
to the Sabor; and granting amnesty. Croatian constitution and legislation provide for regular elections for the office of the president of the republic, the parliament, county prefects and assemblies, as well as city and municipal mayors and councils.
Croatia has a three-tiered, independent judicial system governed by the Constitution of Croatia
Constitution of Croatia
The current Constitution of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia on December 22, 1990. It replaced the Constitution of 1974 ratified in socialist Yugoslavia...
and national legislation enacted by Sabor. The Supreme Court
Croatian Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia is a highest court and it ensures the uniform application of laws and equal justice to all.-Judicial system:...
is the highest court of appeal in Croatia. There are other specialised courts in Croatia—commercial courts and the Superior Commercial Court, misdemeanour courts, the Superior Misdemeanour Court, the Administrative Court and the Croatian Constitutional Court
Croatian Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia is the interpreter and guardian of the Croatian Constitution and considered the highest judicial authority de facto, because it can overturn Supreme Court decisions on the basis of constitutional breaches...
. State Attorney's Office represents the state in legal procedures.
Legal framework
Croatia is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic. Following the collapse of the ruling communist party in SFR Yugoslavia, Croatia adopted new constitutionConstitution of Croatia
The current Constitution of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia on December 22, 1990. It replaced the Constitution of 1974 ratified in socialist Yugoslavia...
in 1990, replacing the 1974 constitution adopted by the Socialist Republic of Croatia
Socialist Republic of Croatia
Socialist Republic of Croatia was a sovereign constituent country of the second Yugoslavia. It came to existence during World War II, becoming a socialist state after the war, and was also renamed four times in its existence . It was the second largest republic in Yugoslavia by territory and...
and organised its first multi-party elections
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. The 1990 constitution still remains in force, however it was amended four times since its adoption—in 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2010. It declared independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
on 8 October 1991 leading to the breakup of Yugoslavia and the country was internationally recognised by the United Nations in 1992. Under its 1990 constitution, Croatia operated a semi-presidential system
Semi-presidential system
The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president and a prime minister are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state...
until 2000 when it switched to a parliamentary system
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
. Government powers in Croatia are divided into legislative, executive and judiciary powers. The legal system of Croatia is civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
, strongly influenced, as is the institutional framework, by the legal heritage of Austria-Hungary. By the time EU accession negotiations
Accession of Croatia to the European Union
Croatia applied for European Union membership in 2003, and the European Commission recommended making it an official candidate in early 2004. Candidate country status was granted to Croatia by the European Council in mid-2004...
were completed on 30 June 2010, Croatian legislation was fully harmonised with the Community acquis.
Executive
The President of the Republic is the head of stateHead of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
, directly elected to a five-year term and is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of two terms. In addition to being the commander in chief of the armed forces
Military of Croatia
Croatian military is officially called Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia and it consists of three branches:* Croatian Army * Croatian Navy...
, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the prime minister with the consent of the Sabor (Parliament) through a simple majority vote, and the President has some influence on foreign policy. The most recent presidential elections were held on 10 January 2010, when Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović is a Croatian politician who has been President of Croatia since 2010. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Croatia , and played a key role in the democratic transformation of this party as the author of the first statute of the SDP that replaced the...
won. He took the oath of office
Oath of office
An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations...
on 18 February 2010. Besides limiting holders of the presidential office to two terms, the constitution also prevents the president from being a member of any political party. Consequently, the president-elect withdraws from party membership before inauguration. President Josipović did so on 15 February 2010.
The government
Government of Croatia
The Government of the Republic of Croatia , commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government , is the main element of the executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the President of the Government , commonly abbreviated to premier...
, the main executive power of the Croatian state, is headed by the prime minister, who has six deputy chairmen, four of whom also serve as government ministers and 12 other ministers, appointed by the prime minister with the consent of the Sabor, in charge of particular sectors of activity. As of 2011, Deputy Prime Ministers are Petar Čobanković
Petar Čobanković
Petar Čobanković is Croatian politician and Minister of Regional Development, Forestry and Water Management.Čobanković finished elementary and high school in Ilok, after that he attended Faculty of Agriculture at University of Zagreb wher he got B.Sc. degree of agriculture. From 2000 until 2001 he...
, Gordan Jandroković
Gordan Jandrokovic
Gordan Jandroković is a Croatian diplomat and politician. Currently, he is the foreign minister of Croatia.Jandroković was born in Bjelovar. He graduated from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Civil Engineering in 1991, and obtained a diploma from the Faculty of Political Sciences in...
, Darko Milinović
Darko Milinović
Darko Milinović is a Croatian politician currently serving as Minister of Health and Social Welfare in the Government of Croatia...
, Domagoj Ivan Milošević, Božidar Pankretić and Slobodan Uzelac
Slobodan Uzelac
Slobodan Uzelac, Ph.D., is the current Vice Prime Minister of Croatia for Regional Development, Reconstruction and Return. He is the member of Serbian minority in Croatia....
. Government ministers are from the Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
(HDZ) and the Croatian Peasant Party
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...
(HSS). Government ministers are members of the Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
(HDZ), the Croatian Peasant Party
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...
(HSS) or independent, and a deputy PM is a member of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS). The executive branch
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign
Foreign relations of Croatia
The following page shows the foreign relations of Croatia from past history, current events, international disputes and foreign support.-History:...
and internal policies of the republic. Government's official residence
Official residence
An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...
is at Banski dvori
Banski dvori
Banski dvori |Courts]] of the Ban) is the name of the historical building on the west side of St. Mark's Square in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the historical official residence of the Croatian Bans, who where the Croatian Viceroys after 1102...
. Since 1 July 2009, the prime minister of the government has been Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor is a Croatian politician and former journalist. She is the current Prime Minister of Croatia, having taken office on July 6, 2009, following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. She is Croatia's first female Prime Minister since independence.-Early life:Jadranka...
.
|President
|Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović is a Croatian politician who has been President of Croatia since 2010. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Croatia , and played a key role in the democratic transformation of this party as the author of the first statute of the SDP that replaced the...
|Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Croatia
Social Democratic Party of Croatia , commonly referred to in Croatia as simply Social Democratic Party , is the largest centre-left political party in Croatia...
|18 February 2010
|-
|Prime Minister
|Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor is a Croatian politician and former journalist. She is the current Prime Minister of Croatia, having taken office on July 6, 2009, following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. She is Croatia's first female Prime Minister since independence.-Early life:Jadranka...
|Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
|6 July 2009
|}
Legislature
The parliamentParliament of Croatia
The Parliament of Croatia or the Sabor is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and legislature of the country. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, represents the people and is vested with the legislative power...
is a unicameral legislative body. A second chamber, the Chamber of Counties , was set up in 1993 pursuant to the 1990 Constitution. The Chamber of Counties used to be composed of three deputies from each of the 20 counties and the city of Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
. However, as it had no practical power over the Chamber of Representatives, in 2001 it was abolished and its powers transferred directly to the county governments. The number of Sabor representatives can vary from 100 to 160; they are all elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. 140 members are elected in multi-seat constituencies, up to 6 members chosen by proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
to represent Croatians residing abroad and 5 members represent ethnic and national communities or minorities. The two largest political parties in Croatia are the Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
and the Social Democratic Party of Croatia
Social Democratic Party of Croatia
Social Democratic Party of Croatia , commonly referred to in Croatia as simply Social Democratic Party , is the largest centre-left political party in Croatia...
. The last parliamentary elections were held on 25 November 2007 in Croatia and on 24 November and 25 November 2007 abroad. The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 4 December 2011.
The Sabor meets in public sessions in two periods: January 15 to June 30, and September 15 to December 15. Extra sessions can be called by the President of the Republic, by the President of the Parliament or by Government. The powers of the legislature include enactment and amendment of the constitution; passage of laws; adoption of the state budget; declarations of war and peace; alteration of the boundaries of the Republic; calling referendums; carrying out elections, appointments, and relief of office; supervising the work of the Government of Croatia and other holders of public powers responsible to the Sabor; and granting amnesty. Decisions are made based on a majority vote if more than half of the Chamber is present, except in cases of constitutional issues.
Elections
Croatian constitution and legislation provide for regular elections for the office of the president of the republic, the parliament, county prefects, county assemblies, city and municipal mayors as well as city and municipal councils. President of the Republic is elected to a five year term, by a direct vote of all citizens of Croatia, with a majority vote required to win. A runoff electionTwo-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
round is held in case no candidate secures the majority in the first round of voting. The presidential elections are regulated by the constitution and dedicated legislation, however the latter defines technical details, appeals and similar issues only.
140 members of the parliament are elected to a four-year term in ten multi-seat constituencies. The constituencies are defined on the basis of the existing county borders, with necessary amendments to achieve uniform number of eligible voters in each constituency to within 5% variation. Another constituency is defined for citizens of Croatia living abroad, however its number of seats was not fixed for the last parliamentary election. It was instead calculated based on numbers of votes cast in the ten constituencies in Croatia and the votes cast in the 11th constituency, set up for those living outside Croatia. In the 2007 parliamentary election
Croatian parliamentary election, 2007
Parliamentary elections to the Croatian Parliament were held on 25 November 2007 in Croatia and on 24 November and 25 November 2007 abroad. The campaign officially started on 3 November...
the constituency elected five MPs. Recent constitutional changes have abolished the scheme and assigned permanently three MPs to the 11th constituency. Additional eight members of the parliament are elected by voters belonging to 22 recognized minorities in Croatia: Serb minority
Serbs of Croatia
Višeslav of Serbia, a contemporary of Charlemagne , ruled the Županias of Neretva, Tara, Piva, Lim, his ancestral lands. According to the Royal Frankish Annals , Duke of Pannonia Ljudevit Posavski fled, during the Frankish invasion, from his seat in Sisak to the Serbs in western Bosnia, who...
elects three MPs, Hungarians
Hungarians of Croatia
Hungarians of Croatia are a recognized ethnic minority. According to the 2001 census there are around 16,500 people of Hungarian ethnicity living in Croatia . Around two thirds of them live in Osijek-Baranja County in eastern Croatia, especially in the Croatian part of the Baranya region which...
and Italians
Italians of Croatia
Italians of Croatia are an autochthonous national minority recognized by the Constitution of Croatia. There are two major groups of Italians in Croatia:* Istrian Italians* Dalmatian Italians...
elect one MP each, Czech and Slovak minorities elect one MP jointly, while all other minorities elect two more MPs to the parliament. Standard D'Hondt formula
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
is applied to the vote, with a 5% election threshold
Election threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
. The last parliamentary election, held in 2007 elected 153 MPs, and the next one, scheduled for December 2011, shall elect 151.
The county prefects, city and municipal mayors are elected to four-year terms, by majority of votes cast within applicable local government units, with a runoff election if no candidate achieves majority in the first round of voting. Members of county, city and municipal councils are elected to four-year terms, through proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
with the entire local government unit as a single constituency. Number of members of the councils is defined by the councils themselves based on applicable legislation. Electoral committees are then tasked with determining whether the national minorities are represented in the council as required by the constitution, adding further members to the council, who belong to the appropriate minorities, selecting them from electoral candidate lists and who have not been elected through the proportional representation system.
Latest presidential election
Latest parliamentary election
Judiciary
Croatia has a three-tiered, independent judicial system governed by the Constitution of CroatiaConstitution of Croatia
The current Constitution of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia on December 22, 1990. It replaced the Constitution of 1974 ratified in socialist Yugoslavia...
and national legislation enacted by Sabor. The Supreme Court
Croatian Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia is a highest court and it ensures the uniform application of laws and equal justice to all.-Judicial system:...
is the highest court of appeal in Croatia. The Supreme Court hearings are open, and judgments are made publicly, except in issues of privacy of the accused. Judges are appointed by the National Judicial Council and judicial office is permanent (until seventy years of age). The President of the Supreme Court is elected for a four-year term by the Croatian Parliament at the proposal of the President of the Republic. The Supreme Court has civil and criminal departments and the president of the Supreme Court is Branko Hrvatin. The lower two levels of the three-tiered judiciary consist of county courts and municipal courts. There are fifteen county courts in and 67 municipal courts in the country.
Furthermore there are other specialised courts in Croatia. They comprise commercial courts and the Superior Commercial Court, misdemeanour courts, the Superior Misdemeanour Court, the Administrative Court and the Croatian Constitutional Court
Croatian Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia is the interpreter and guardian of the Croatian Constitution and considered the highest judicial authority de facto, because it can overturn Supreme Court decisions on the basis of constitutional breaches...
. The Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding compliance of legislation with the constitution and repeals unconstitutional legislation, reports any breaches of provisions of the constitution to the government and the parliament, declares the speaker of the parliament acting president upon petition from the government in cases of incapacitation of the president, issues consent to commencement of criminal procedures against or arrest of the president, hears appeals against decisions of the National Judicial Council. The court consists of thirteen judges elected by members of the parliament for an eight-year term. The president of the Constitutional Court is elected by the court judges for a four-year term. President of the Constitutional Court of Croatia is Jasna Omejec. The National Judicial Council appoints all judges and court presidents, except in case of the Supreme Court. It is a body consisting of eleven members, specifically seven judges, two university professors of law and two parliament members, nominated and elected by the Parliament for four-year terms, and no more than two terms. President of the National Judicial Council is Ranko Marijan, who is also a Supreme Court judge.
State Attorney's Office represents the state in legal procedures. Mladen Bajić
Mladen Bajić
Mladen Bajić is the State Attorney General of the Republic of Croatia.Bajić graduated from the Faculty of Law in Split in 1975. After graduating, he worked at the District Attorney's offices in Dubrovnik and Split...
is the General State Attorney, and there are 23 deputies in the central office and lower-ranking State Attorneys at 15 county and 33 municipal State Attorney's Offices. The General State Attorney is appointed by the parliament. A special State Attorney's Office dedicated to combatting corruption and organized crime, USKOK
USKOK
USKOK is a Croatian government institution. It is a State Attorney office specialized in corruption and organized crime.USKOK started work in December 2001...
, was set up in late 2001.
Local government
Croatia was first subdivided into counties in the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The divisions changed over time to reflect losses of territory to Ottoman conquest and subsequent liberation of the same territory, changes of political status of Dalmatia, Dubrovnik and Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
. Traditional division of the country into counties was abolished in the 1920s, when the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and subsequent Kingdom of Yugoslavia introduced oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
s and banovinas
Subdivisions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The subdivisions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia existed successively in three different forms. From 1918 to 1922, the kingdom maintained the pre-World War I subdivisions of Yugoslavia's predecessor states...
respectively. Communist ruled Croatia, as a constituent part of post-WWII Yugoslavia, abolished earlier divisions and introduced municipalities, subdividing Croatia into approximately one hundred municipalities. Counties were reintroduced in 1992 legislation, significantly altered in terms of territory relative to the pre-1920s subdivisions: In 1918, the Transleithanian part of Croatia was divided into eight counties with their seats in Bjelovar, Gospić, Ogulin, Požega, Vukovar, Varaždin, Osijek and Zagreb, and the 1992 legislation established 15 counties in the same territory. Since the counties were re-established in 1992, Croatia is divided into 20 counties and the capital city of Zagreb, the latter having the authority and legal status of a county and a city at the same time. Borders of the counties changed in some instances since, with the latest revision taking place in 2006. The counties subdivide into 127 cities and 429 municipalities
Municipalities of Croatia
A Municipality in Croatia is known as an općina . Though equal to Croatian Grads in administrative powers, they are usually more likely to consists of a collection of villages in more rural or suburban area, whereas Grads are more likely to cover urban area...
.
The county
Counties of Croatia
The primary territorial subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia called županije . In English they are commonly referred to as counties....
prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
s, city and municipal
Municipalities of Croatia
A Municipality in Croatia is known as an općina . Though equal to Croatian Grads in administrative powers, they are usually more likely to consists of a collection of villages in more rural or suburban area, whereas Grads are more likely to cover urban area...
mayors are elected to four-year terms, by majority of votes cast within applicable local government units
Administrative divisions of Croatia
The subdivisions of Croatia on the first level are the 20 counties and one city-county . On the second level these are municipalities and towns . Both of these type of subdivisions consist of settlements...
, with a runoff election
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
if no candidate achieves majority in the first round of voting. Members of county, city and municipal councils are elected to four-year terms, through proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
with the entire local government unit as a single constituency. Number of members of the councils is defined by the councils themselves based on applicable legislation. Electoral committees are then tasked with determining whether the national minorities are represented in the council as required by the constitution
Constitution of Croatia
The current Constitution of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia on December 22, 1990. It replaced the Constitution of 1974 ratified in socialist Yugoslavia...
, adding further members to the council, who belong to the appropriate minorities, selecting them from electoral candidate lists and who have not been elected through the proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
system. Election silence, as in all other types of elections in Croatia, is enforced on the day of the elections and the previous day, ending at 7 in the evening, which is the time when the polling stations close and exit polls may be announced. Out of six nationwide local elections held in Croatia since 1990, the most recent were the 2009 local elections
Croatian local elections, 2009
The 2009 Croatian local elections were held on 17 May, with the second round held on 31 May where necessary.The elections were held to elect members of city councils, mayors, members of county councils and county prefects. These were the first elections in which mayors and county prefects were...
to elect county prefects and councils, as well as city and municipal councils and mayors. At that occasion HDZ-led coalitions won majority
Majority
A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...
or plurality in 15 county councils, and 13 county prefect elections. SDP-led coalitions won majority or plurality in five county councils, including the city of Zagreb council, and the single remaining county council election was won by IDS-SDP coalition. The SDP won four county prefect elections and the city of Zagreb mayoral election, the HSS won three county prefect elections, and the HNS and the HDSSB won a single county prefect election each.
| County Counties of Croatia The primary territorial subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia called županije . In English they are commonly referred to as counties.... | Seat | Area (km²) | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bjelovar-Bilogora Bjelovar-Bilogora County Bjelovar-Bilogora County is a county in central Croatia.The central town of Bjelovar was first mentioned in 1413, and it only gained importance when a new fort was built in 1756 to defend against the Ottoman invasions... |
Bjelovar Bjelovar Bjelovar is a city in central Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Bjelovar-Bilogora County. During the 2001 census, there were 41,869 inhabitants, 90.51% which are Croats.... |
2,652 | 119,743 |
| Brod-Posavina Brod-Posavina County Brod-Posavina County is the southern Slavonian county in Croatia. Its center is the city of Slavonski Brod and it spreads along the left bank of the Sava river, hence the name Posavina... |
Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod is a city in Croatia, with a population of 59,507 in 2011. The city was known as Marsonia in the Roman Empire, and as Brod na Savi 1244–1934. It is the sixth largest city in Croatia, after Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek and Zadar. Located in the region of Slavonia, it is the... |
2,043 | 158,559 |
| Dubrovnik-Neretva Dubrovnik-Neretva County The Dubrovnik–Neretva County is the southernmost Croatian county located in south Dalmatia. The county seat is Dubrovnik and other large towns are Korčula, Metković, Opuzen and Ploče... |
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641... |
1,783 | 122,783 |
| Istria Istria County Istria County is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula . The area of the county is called Istra in Croatian and Slovene... |
Pazin Pazin Pazin is the administrative seat of Istria County in Croatia. The town has a population of 4,986 , the total Pazin municipality population is 9,227... |
2,820 | 208,440 |
| Karlovac Karlovac County Karlovac County is a county in central Croatia, with the administrative center in Karlovac.The city of Karlovac is another fort from the times of the Military Frontier... |
Karlovac Karlovac Karlovac is a city and municipality in central Croatia. The city proper has a population of 49,082, while the municipality has a population of 59,395 inhabitants .Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County... |
3,622 | 128,749 |
| Koprivnica-Križevci Koprivnica-Križevci County Koprivnica-Križevci County is a county in northern Croatia. Its hyphenated name comes from two entities: the two of its largest cities, Koprivnica and Križevci.... |
Koprivnica Koprivnica Koprivnica is a city in northern Croatia. It is the capital of the Koprivnica-Križevci county. In 2011 the city administrative area had a total population of 30,872, with 23,896 in the city itself.-Population:... |
1,746 | 115,582 |
| Krapina-Zagorje Krapina-Zagorje County Krapina-Zagorje county is a county in northern Croatia. It encompasses most of the historic region called Hrvatsko Zagorje.The Krapina-Zagorje county is a candidate for being the most idyllic county in Croatia: the many villages and small towns spread out across the hillsides are perfect for... |
Krapina Krapina Krapina is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 and a total municipality population of 12,479... |
1,224 | 133,064 |
| Lika-Senj Lika-Senj County Lika-Senj county is a county in Croatia that includes most of the Lika region and some northern coastline of the Adriatic near the town of Senj, including the northern part of the Pag island... |
Gospić Gospic Gospić is a town in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika, Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Lika-Senj county. Gospić is located near the Lika River in the middle of a karst field.... |
5,350 | 51,022 |
| Međimurje | Čakovec Cakovec Čakovec is a city in northern Croatia, located around 90 kilometres north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, smallest and most densely populated Croatian county.-Population:... |
730 | 114,414 |
| Osijek-Baranja Osijek-Baranja County Osijek-Baranja county is a county in Croatia, located in northeastern Slavonia and Baranja. Its center is Osijek; other cities include Đakovo, Našice, Valpovo, Belišće, Beli Manastir.-Administrative divisions:Osijek-Baranja county is divided into:... |
Osijek Osijek Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county... |
4,152 | 304,899 |
| Požega-Slavonia Požega-Slavonia County Požega-Slavonia county is a Croatian county in western Slavonia. Its capital is Požega. Population: 85,831 .-Geography:The Požega-Slavonia county borders on the Bjelovar-Bilogora County in the northwest, Virovitica-Podravina County in the north, Osijek-Baranja County in the northeast,... |
Požega Požega, Croatia Požega is a city in western Slavonia, eastern Croatia, with a total population of 26,403 . It is the administrative center of the Požega-Slavonia County.-Geography:... |
1,845 | 78,031 |
| Primorje-Gorski Kotar Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Primorje-Gorski kotar County is a county in western Croatia that includes the Bay of Kvarner and the surrounding Northern Croatian seacoast, and the mountainous region of Gorski kotar... |
Rijeka Rijeka Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants... |
3,582 | 296,123 |
| Šibenik-Knin Šibenik-Knin County Šibenik-Knin County is a county in Croatia, located in north-central Dalmatia. Its center is Šibenik; other notable towns are Knin, Drniš and Skradin.... |
Šibenik Šibenik Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea... |
2,939 | 109,320 |
| Sisak-Moslavina Sisak-Moslavina County Sisak-Moslavina County is a Croatian county in eastern Central Croatia and southwestern Slavonia. It is named after the city of Sisak and the region Moslavina just across the river Sava. According to 2001 census it is inhabited by 185 thousand people.... |
Sisak Sisak Sisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county... |
4,463 | 172,977 |
| Split-Dalmatia Split-Dalmatia County Split-Dalmatia County is the central-southern Dalmatian county in Croatia. The administrative center is Split. The population of the county is 455,242... |
Split | 4,534 | 455,242 |
| Varaždin Varaždin County Varaždin County is a county in northern Croatia. It is named after its county seat, the city of Varaždin.-Geography:In addition to the city of Varaždin, the county includes the towns of Ivanec, Ludbreg, Lepoglava, Novi Marof and Varaždinske Toplice, as well as 22 municipalities... |
Varaždin Varaždin Varaždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. The total population is 47,055, with 38,746 on of the city settlement itself . The centre of Varaždin county is located near the Drava river, at... |
1,261 | 176,046 |
| Virovitica-Podravina Virovitica-Podravina County Virovitica-Podravina county is a northern Slavonian county in Croatia. Its county seat is in Virovitica and it includes the area around the Drava river, hence the name Podravina... |
Virovitica Virovitica Virovitica is a Croatian town near the Croatian-Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,663, with 21,327 people in the municipality... |
2,068 | 84,586 |
| Vukovar-Syrmia Vukovar-Syrmia County Vukovar-Syrmia county is the easternmost Croatian county. It includes the eastern parts of Slavonia and western parts of Syrmia regions; but also the lower Sava river basin .... |
Vukovar Vukovar Vukovar is a city in eastern Croatia, and the biggest river port in Croatia located at the confluence of the Vuka river and the Danube. Vukovar is the center of the Vukovar-Syrmia County... |
2,448 | 180,117 |
| Zadar Zadar County Zadar County is a county in Croatia, it encompasses northern Dalmatia and southeastern Lika. Its center is the city of Zadar.- Population :According to the 2001 census, Zadar County has population of 162,045... |
Zadar Zadar Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens... |
3,642 | 170,398 |
| Zagreb County Zagreb County Zagreb County is a county in central Croatia. It surrounds – but does not contain – the nation's capital Zagreb, which is a separate territorial unit. For that reason, it is often nicknamed "Zagreb ring"... |
Zagreb Zagreb Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city... |
3,078 | 317,642 |
| City of Zagreb | Zagreb Zagreb Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city... |
641 | 792,875 |
Within Austria-Hungary
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
in Europe and in in the Austrian Empire
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
represent a watershed in Croatian society and politics, as it symbolizes the Croatian national revival that strongly influenced and significantly shaped political and social events in Croatia from that point onwards to the end of the 20th century. At the time, Sabor and Ban Josip Jelačić
Josip Jelacic
Count Josip Jelačić of Bužim was the Ban of Croatia between 23 March 1848 and 19 May 1859...
advocated implicit severance of ties with the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary (1538–1867)
The Kingdom of Hungary between 1538 and 1867 was part of the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy, while outside the Holy Roman Empire.After Battle of Mohács, the country was ruled by two crowned kings . They divided the kingdom in 1538...
, emphasizing links to other South Slavic
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
lands within the empire. In the period, several prominent Croatian political figures emerged, such as Ante Starčević
Ante Starcevic
Ante Starčević , was a Croatian politician and writer whose activities and works laid the foundations for the modern Croatian state.His works are base for Croatian nationalism, he is often referred to as Father of the Fatherland by Croats.-Life:...
, Eugen Kvaternik
Eugen Kvaternik
Eugen Kvaternik was a Croatian politician and revolutionary. Kvaternik and Ante Starčević formed the original Croatian Party of Rights together....
, Franjo Rački
Franjo Racki
Franjo Rački was a Croatian historian, politician and writer. He compiled important collections of old Croatian diplomatic and historical documents, wrote some pioneering historical works, and was a key founder of the Yugoslavian Academy of Sciences and Arts.-Historian:Rački was born in Fužine,...
and Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic bishop and benefactor.-Early life and rise as a cleric:...
. A period of neo-absolutism was followed by Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and Croatian–Hungarian Settlement recognizing limited independence of Croatia. This was compounded by Croatian claims of uninterrupted statehood since the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
as a basis for a modern state. Two political parties that evolved in the 1860s and contributed significantly to the sentiment were the Party of Rights
Party of Rights (1861–1929)
The Party of Rights or Party of the Right was an influential Croatian political party in the 19th and 20th centuries. The right or rights in the party's name refer to the idea of Croatian national and ethnic rights that were the central topic of the party's existence, as the first name was Stranka...
led by Starčević and Kvaternik, and the People's Party
People's Party (Kingdom of Croatia)
People's Party was a political party in the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia.It was founded in 1841 based on Croatian Illyrian movement. Because the movement did not distinguish Croats from other South Slavs and instead called them all Illyrians, the party was named the Illyrian people's party when it...
led by Janko Drašković
Janko Draškovic
Janko Drašković was a Croatian national reformer, politician and poet. He was a member of the Drašković family, one of the oldest Croatian noble families.-Biography:Janko Drašković was born in 1770 in Zagreb...
, Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski
Ivan Kukuljevic Sakcinski
Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski was a Croatian historian, politician and writer. Most famous for the first speech delivered in Croatian before the Parliament, this patriot and cultural figure did some pioneering work in Croatian historiography and bibliography...
, Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer
Josip Juraj Strossmayer was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic bishop and benefactor.-Early life and rise as a cleric:...
and Ivan Mažuranić
Ivan Mažuranic
Ivan Mažuranić was a Croatian poet, linguist and politician—probably the most important figure in Croatia's cultural life in the mid-19th century...
. They were opposed by the National Constitutional Party who were in power for most of the period between the 1860s and the 1918, advocating closer ties between Croatia and Hungary. Other significant parties formed in the era were the Serb People's Independent Party
Serb People's Independent Party
Serb People's Independent Party, sometimes just Serb Independent Party was a political party in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, under the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
, who would later form the Croat-Serb Coalition
Croat-Serb Coalition
The Croat-Serb Coalition was a major political alliance in Austria-Hungary during the beginning of the 20th century that governed the Croatian lands . It represented the political idea of a cooperation of Croats and Serbs in Austria-Hungary for mutual benefit...
with the Party of Rights and other Croat and Serb parties. The Coalition ruled Croatia between 1903 and 1918. Leaders of the Coalition were Frano Supilo
Frano Supilo
Frano Supilo was a Croatian politician and journalist. He was a major political figure in the twenty years preceding World War I....
and Svetozar Pribićević
Svetozar Pribicevic
Svetozar Pribićević was an ethnic Serb politician from Croatia who worked hard for creation of unitaristic Yugoslavia. However, he later became a bitter opponent of the same policy and of the dictatorship of king Aleksandar Karađorđević...
. Croatian Peasant Party
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...
(HSS), established in 1904 and led by Stjepan Radić
Stjepan Radic
Stjepan Radić was a Croatian politician and the founder of the Croatian Peasant Party in 1905. Radić is credited with galvanizing the peasantry of Croatia into a viable political force...
, advocated Croatian autonomy but achieved only moderate gains by 1918. In Dalmatia
Kingdom of Dalmatia
The Kingdom of Dalmatia was an administrative division of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1815 to 1918. Its capital was Zadar.-History:...
, two major parties were the People's Party
People's Party (Kingdom of Dalmatia)
People's Party was a political party in the Kingdom of Dalmatia. It was founded in 1861 after the failure of Bach's absolutism, as branch of the People's Party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia...
, a branch of the People's Party active in Croatia-Slavonia and the Autonomist Party
Autonomist Party
The Autonomist Party was a political party in the Dalmatian political scene, that existed for around 70 years of the nineteenth century and until World War I. Its goal was to maintain the autonomy of the Kingdom of Dalmatia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as opposed to the unification with the...
, advocating maintaining autonomy of Dalmatia, opposite to the People's Party demands for unification of Croatia-Slavonia and Dalmatia. The Autonomist Party, most notably led by Antonio Bajamonti
Antonio Bajamonti
Antonio Bajamonti was a Dalmatian politician. Bajamonti's parents were Giuseppe Bajamonti and Helena Candido of Šibenik. He was one of the most successful mayors of Split...
, was also linked to Italian irredentism. By 1900s, the Party of Rights also made considerable gains in Dalmatia. The Autonomists won the first three elections, while all others since 1870 were won by the People's Party. In 1861–1918 there were 17 elections in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia or Croatia Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was part of the Hungarian Kingdom within the dual Austro-Hungarian state, being within the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen or Transleithania...
and 10 in the Kingdom of Dalmatia
Kingdom of Dalmatia
The Kingdom of Dalmatia was an administrative division of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1815 to 1918. Its capital was Zadar.-History:...
.
First and Second Yugoslavia
After establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the HSS established itself as the most popular Croatian political parties, and one of the most successful parties in the country despite efforts to ban the party. The 1921 constitutionVidovdan Constitution
The Vidovdan Constitution was the first constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was approved by the Constitutional Assembly on June 28, 1921 despite the opposition boycotting the vote. The Constitution is named after the feast of St. Vitus , a Serbian holiday. The Constitution...
defining the country as a unitary state
Unitary state
A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...
and abolition of historical administrative divisions effectively ended Croatian autonomy and it was opposed by HSS. The political situation deteriorated further as Stjepan Radić of HSS was assassinated in National Assembly in 1928, leading to the dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
of King Alexander
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I , also known as Alexander the Unifier was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as the last king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes .-Childhood:...
in January 1929. The HSS, now led by Vladko Maček
Vladko Macek
Vladko Maček was a Croatian politician active within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the first half of the 20th century. He led the Croatian Peasant Party following the assassination of Stjepan Radić, and all through World War II.- Early life :Maček was born to a Slovene-Czech family in the village...
, continued to advocate federalization of Yugoslavia, resulting in the Cvetković–Maček Agreement of August 1939 and the autonomous Banovina of Croatia
Banovina of Croatia
The Banovina of Croatia or Banate of Croatia was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1939 and 1943 . Its capital was at Zagreb and it included most of present-day Croatia along with portions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia...
. The Yugoslav government retained control of defence, internal security, foreign affairs, trade, and transport while other matters were left to the Croatian Sabor and a crown-appointed Ban. The establishment was soon made obsolete with beginning of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, establishment of the Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
which banned all political opposition. Since then, the HSS continues to operate abroad. After the war, the Communists ran unopposed in elections of 1945 as other parties abstained. Once in power, the Communists introduced a single-party political system, with the Communist Party of Yugoslavia as the ruling party and the Communist Party of Croatia as its branch. In 1971, Croatian national movement seeking greater civil rights and decentralization of the Yugoslav economy, culminated as Croatian Spring
Croatian Spring
The Croatian Spring was a political movement from the early 1970s that called for greater rights for Croatia which was then part of Yugoslavia as well as democratic and economic reforms.-History:...
, suppressed by Yugoslav leadership. In January 1990, the Communist Party fragmented along national lines, with the Croatian faction
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
demanding a looser federation.
Modern Croatia
Socialist Republic of Croatia
Socialist Republic of Croatia was a sovereign constituent country of the second Yugoslavia. It came to existence during World War II, becoming a socialist state after the war, and was also renamed four times in its existence . It was the second largest republic in Yugoslavia by territory and...
decided to tolerate political parties in response to growing demands to allow political activities outside the Communist party. The first political party founded in Croatia since beginning of the Communist rule was the Croatian Social Liberal Party
Croatian Social Liberal Party
Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS is a conservative liberal political party in Croatia. The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Its current president is Darinko Kosor, elected to that post in November 2009.-Chronology:The HSLS was...
(HSLS), established on 20 May 1989, followed by the Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
on 17 June 1989. In December, Ivica Račan
Ivica Racan
Ivica Račan was a Croatian career politician, leader of the League of Communists of Croatia and later Social Democratic Party from 1989 to 2007...
became the head of the reformed Communist party. At the same time, the party decided to cancel political trials, release political prisoners and to endorse a multi-party political system. The Civil Organisations Act was formally amended to allow political parties on 11 January 1990, legalising the parties founded until then. By the time of the first round of the first multi-party elections
Croatian parliamentary election, 1990
Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 22 April 1990, with a second round of voting on 6 May. The first free elections since multi-party politics were introduced, they resulted in a victory for the Croatian Democratic Union, which won 55 of the 80 seats...
, held on 22 April 1990, there were 33 registered parties. Still, the most relevant parties and coalitions were the renamed Communist party—League of Communists of Croatia - Party of Democratic Changes, the HDZ and the Coalition of People's Accord
Coalition of People's Accord
Coalition of People's Accord was the bloc of mostly moderate nationalist and liberal parties formed on the eve of first multi-party elections in Croatia in 1990....
(KNS), which included the HSLS led by Dražen Budiša
Dražen Budiša
Dražen Budiša is a Croatian politician who used to be leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate.-During Yugoslavia:...
and the HSS, which resumed operating in Croatia in December 1989. The runoff election was held on 6 May 1990. Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
(HDZ) led by Franjo Tuđman won ahead of the reformed Communists and the KNS. The KNS, led by once leaders of the Croatian Spring, Savka Dabčević-Kučar and Miko Tripalo
Miko Tripalo
Miko Tripalo was a Croatian and Yugoslav politician.A son of well-to-do farmers' family near Sinj, he joined Tito's Partisans as a teenager...
, soon splintered to individual parties. Even though the HDZ maintained a parliamentary majority until parliamentary elections of 2000
Croatian parliamentary election, 2000
Elections for the Chamber of Representatives of the Croatian Parliament were held on January 3, 2000. These were the first elections to be held after the expiration of a full term of the previous Chamber....
when it was defeated by the Social Democratic Party of Croatia
Social Democratic Party of Croatia
Social Democratic Party of Croatia , commonly referred to in Croatia as simply Social Democratic Party , is the largest centre-left political party in Croatia...
(SDP) led by Račan, Franjo Gregurić
Franjo Greguric
Franjo Gregurić is a Croatian politician who served as prime minister of Croatia from July 1991 to September 1992.Gregurić was born in the Zagorje village of Lobor. He attended the Technical highschool in Zagreb, and then the Technical Faculty of the University of Zagreb...
was appointed Prime Minister of Croatia to head a national unity government
National unity government
A national unity government, government of national unity, or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.- Canada :During World War I the Conservative government of Sir...
in July 1991 as the Croatian War of Independence
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
escalated in intensity and his appointment lasted until August 1992. During his term, Croatia's declaration of independence took effect on 8 October. The HDZ returned to power in elections of 2003
Croatian parliamentary election, 2003
-External links:*...
, while the SDP remains the largest opposition party.
Tuđman won presidential elections in 1992
Croatian presidential election, 1992
Presidential elections were held in Croatia for the first time on 2 August 1992 alongside simultaneous parliamentary elections. The result was a victory for Franjo Tuđman of the Croatian Democratic Union , who received 57.8% of the vote...
and 1997
Croatian presidential election, 1997
Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 15 June 1997. The result was a victory for Franjo Tuđman of the Croatian Democratic Union , who received 61.4% of the vote. Voter turnout was 54.6%.-Results:...
. During his reign, Constitution of Croatia
Constitution of Croatia
The current Constitution of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia on December 22, 1990. It replaced the Constitution of 1974 ratified in socialist Yugoslavia...
adopted in 1990 provided for a semi-presidential system
Semi-presidential system
The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president and a prime minister are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state...
. After his death in 1999, the constitution was amended and much of the presidential powers were transferred to the parliament and the government
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
. Stjepan Mesić
Stjepan Mesić
Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić is a Croatian politician and former President of Croatia. Before his ten-year presidential term between 2000 and 2010 he held the posts of Speaker of the Croatian Parliament , Prime Minister of Croatia , the last President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia , Secretary General...
won two consecutive terms, in 2000
Croatian presidential election, 2000
Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 24 January 2000. As no candidate passed the 50% threshold, a secound round was held on 7 February, the first time a second round had been required in the country's history. The result was a victory for Stjepan Mesić of the Croatian People's Party, who...
on Croatian People's Party (HNS) ticket and in 2005
Croatian presidential election, 2005
The fourth presidential elections in Croatia took place in two rounds in January 2005.-Background:The State Elections Committee published a list of candidates on 15 December 2004. President Stjepan Mesić stood for re-election, and the governing HDZ nominated cabinet minister Jadranka Kosor...
, the maximum permitted by the constitution. Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović is a Croatian politician who has been President of Croatia since 2010. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Croatia , and played a key role in the democratic transformation of this party as the author of the first statute of the SDP that replaced the...
, an SDP candidate, won the presidential elections held in December 2009 and January 2010.
See also
- List of political parties in Croatia
- Foreign relations of CroatiaForeign relations of CroatiaThe following page shows the foreign relations of Croatia from past history, current events, international disputes and foreign support.-History:...
- Military of CroatiaMilitary of CroatiaCroatian military is officially called Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia and it consists of three branches:* Croatian Army * Croatian Navy...