List of presidents of Croatia

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This is a list of heads of state of the Republic of Croatia, since the independence of Croatia.

Contents

Historically, the republican system was introduced in the Socialist Republic of Croatia while it was a constituent republic of the SFR Yugoslavia, and its head of state is discussed in the history of politics of the Socialist Republic of Croatia.

Since 1990, the President of the Republic of Croatia (Predsjednik) is directly elected to a five-year term and is limited to a maximum of two terms. However, with the Constitution of 2001, the powers of the President (much expanded in 1990) were now again severely curtailed, as Croatia shifted from a semi-presidential system, to an incomplete parliamentary system. As in most parliamentary systems, the President is now by-and-large a ceremonial office, with the Prime Minister de facto heading the executive branch.

Presidents of the Republic of Croatia (1990–present) [1]

On 30 May 1990 Franjo Tuđman was elected by Parliament as the President of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, then still a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and held office together with several Vice Presidents of the Presidency of SR Croatia. The collective presidency was reduced to seven members on 25 July 1990 and the name of the constituent Yugoslav republic was changed to the Republic of Croatia by removing the word Socialist from its name and the names of its institutions. The collective presidency was abolished in favor of the post of President of the Republic of Croatia with the adoption of a new constitution on 22 December 1990. The Croatian Parliament then declared independence on 25 June 1991, when Tuđman formally became the first president of an independent Croatian nation under the name the Republic of Croatia.

(*)The constitutional amendments of November 2000 abandoned a semi-presidential system for a parliamentary system (with a directly elected president) and also made the presidency a non-partisan office, meaning that even if they are elected to office as a candidate of a particular political party, the president must resign membership in that party before taking office.

   Croatian Democratic Union (2)

   Social Democratic Party of Croatia (2)

   Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats (1)

No.PictureName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officeElectionPolitical party
No.Term startTerm end
1 Franjotudjman.jpg
Signature of Franjo Tudman.png
Franjo Tuđman
(1922–1999)
30 May 199012 August 1992 Croatian Democratic Union
112 August 199211 August 1997 1992 (56.73%)
212 August 199710 December 1999 † 1997 (61.41%)
Parliament elected him the President of the Presidency of SR Croatia in May 1990, but with the adoption of a new constitution on 22 December 1990, the title of the office was changed to President of the Republic of Croatia and the Presidium of Croatia (Presidency) was abolished. Tuđman presided over the period when Croatia gained independence and ultimately joined the United Nations in May 1992. Tuđman won re-election to a de facto second and third term in 1992 and 1997, winning election outright both times without the need for a run-off. He is the only president to have been elected in the first round of elections. He died in office in December 1999.
Vlatko Pavletić
(1930–2007)
10 December 19992 February 2000Acting President
Tuđman was incapacitated since 26 November 1999 and died on 10 December 1999. Pavletić became acting president as Speaker of the Croatian Parliament. He was succeeded by Zlatko Tomčić when the 4th Assembly of Parliament was replaced by the 5th Assembly after the 2000 election.
Zlatko Tomcic.jpg Zlatko Tomčić
(1945–)
2 February 200018 February 2000Acting President Croatian Peasant Party
Became acting president as Speaker of Parliament when the 4th Assembly of Parliament (1995-2000) was replaced by the 5th Assembly (2000–2003). Served until Stjepan Mesić was sworn in as the new president on 18 February 2000.
2 Stjepan Mesic (2004-02-25) (cropped).jpg
Signature of Stjepan Mesic.png
Stjepan Mesić
(1934–)
319 February 200018 February 2005 2000 (56.01%) Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats* (formally independent)
419 February 200518 February 2010 2005 (65.93%)
He defeated Dražen Budiša in the 2000 presidential elections. He was the first president with reduced powers, as the semi-presidential system was replaced by an incomplete parliamentary system in November 2000. Mesić was re-elected in 2005, defeating Jadranka Kosor in a landslide.
3 16 obljetnica vojnoredarstvene operacije Oluja Ivo Josipovic 04082011 c 876.jpg
Accession Treaty 2011 Ivo Josipovic signature.svg
Ivo Josipović
(1957–)
519 February 201018 February 2015 2009–10 (60.26%) Social Democratic Party* (formally independent)
He defeated Milan Bandić by a wide margin in the 2010 election. He was narrowly defeated by Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in his re-election bid in 2015.
4 Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (cropped).jpg
Kolindacestitka (presidential siganute).jpg
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
(1968–)
619 February 201518 February 2020 2014–15 (50.74%) Croatian Democratic Union* (formally independent)
She defeated incumbent president Ivo Josipović in the second round of the 2015 election. She is the first female president since independence and also the youngest, aged 46. She was defeated by Zoran Milanović in her reelection bid in 2020.
5 Zoran Milanovic at Palazzo del Quirinale 2021 (11) (cropped).jpg
Milanovic potpis.gif
Zoran Milanović
(1966–)
719 February 2020Incumbent 2019–20 (52.66%) Social Democratic Party* (formally independent)
He defeated incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in the second round of the 2020 election.

A – Acting President
(**) From the abolishment of the collective Presidency of the Republic of Croatia on 22 December 1990

See also

Related Research Articles

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 on 25 May 1991. The Constitutional Decision on the Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Croatia came into effect on 8 October 1991. The constitution has since been amended several times. 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, such as the breakup of Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, dictatorship and social upheavals in the kingdom, World War II, the establishment of Communist rule and the breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia.

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References

  1. "Croatian Presidents". President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanović. Retrieved 19 December 2023.