Prime Minister of Croatia


The prime minister of Croatia, officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, is Croatia's head of government, and is de facto the most powerful and influential state officeholder in the Croatian system of government. Following the first-time establishment of the office in 1945, the 1990–2000 semi-presidential period is the only exception where the president of Croatia held de facto authority. In the formal Croatian order of precedence, however, the position of prime minister is the third highest state office, after the president of the Republic and the speaker of the Parliament.
The Constitution of Croatia prescribes that "Parliament supervises the Government" and that "the President of the Republic ensures the regular and balanced functioning and stability of government", while the Government is introduced in Article 108. Since 2000, the prime minister has had various added constitutional powers and is mentioned before the Government itself in the text of the Constitution, in Articles 87, 97, 99, 100, 101, 103, 104. The current prime minister of Croatia is Andrej Plenković. The Government of Croatia meets in Banski dvori, a historical building located on the west side of St. Mark's Square in Zagreb.

Name

The official name of the office, literally translated, is "President of the Government", rather than "Prime Minister". When the office was first established in 1945, the name "President of the Government" was introduced. The name of the office was changed 8 years later with the Yugoslav constitutional reforms of 1953, into "President of the Executive Council". After another round of constitutional reforms in 1990, the office was renamed back to its original 1945-1953 title of "President of the Government". For all periods, however, the term "Prime Minister" is colloquially used in English-language usage.

History

The Royal Government of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was headed by Ban, who represented the King. The first head of government of Croatia as a constituent republic of Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia was Vladimir Bakarić, who assumed the position on 14 April 1945. The position was then, as it is today, the most powerful public office in the state. In post-World War II Socialist Republic of Croatia, a single-party system was in place. During this time there were twelve heads of government, all from the ranks of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, which was reformed and renamed into the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in 1952. The federal party was organized into six sub-organizations - the republic parties, one for each of the six federal republics. Croatian politicians and prime ministers of the period were members of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia through their membership in the League of Communists of Croatia, the Croatian part of the federal party. The office remained the central post of Croatian politics in spite of the institution of a collective Presidency in 1974.
After the constitutional amendments that allowed for multi-party elections in Croatia, the Parliament enacted amendments to the constitution which eliminated socialist references and adopted new national symbols. The newly elected tricameral Parliament proceeded to change the Constitution of Croatia, and on 22 December 1990, this so-called "Christmas Constitution" fundamentally defined the Republic of Croatia and its governmental structure. From the 1990 constitutional reforms onward Croatia was a semi-presidential republic, which meant the president of Croatia had broad executive powers, including the appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other officials in the government. During this period, lasting until constitutional amendments in late 2000, Croatia had seven prime ministers. The first prime minister of Croatia since the 1990 constitutional reforms was Stjepan Mesić, assuming office on 30 May 1990.
Following the May 1991 independence referendum in which 93% of voters approved secession, Croatia formally proclaimed independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991, with Josip Manolić continuing in the role of prime minister as head of government of an independent Croatia. However, the country then signed the July 1991 Brijuni Agreement in which it agreed to postpone further activities towards severing ties with Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, the Croatian War of Independence ensued, and Franjo Gregurić was appointed to lead a Government of National Unity. In October the same year, Croatia formally severed all remaining legal ties with the Yugoslav Federation.
Following the January 2000 general election the winning centre-left coalition led by the Social Democratic Party amended the Constitution and effectively stripped the President of most of his executive powers, strengthening the role of the Parliament and the prime minister, turning Croatia into a parliamentary republic. The prime minister again became the foremost post in Croatian politics.
To date there have been twelve Prime Ministers who have chaired 14 governments since the first multi-party elections. Nine prime ministers were members of the Croatian Democratic Union during their terms of office, two were members of the Social Democratic Party and one was not a member of any political party. Since independence there has been one female prime minister, while Savka Dabčević-Kučar was the first woman to hold an office equivalent to a head of government as Chairman of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Croatia.

Prime ministers of Croatia

Prime ministers of the [Socialist Republic of Croatia] within SFR Yugoslavia">Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia">SFR Yugoslavia (19451990)

Prime ministers of the [Republic of Croatia] (1990–present)

Still a part of SFR Yugoslavia until 25 June 1991.

Statistics

Spouses of prime ministers

NameRelation to Prime Minister
Milka Mesić wife of Prime Minister Stjepan Mesić
Marija Eker Manolićwife of Prime Minister Josip Manolić
Jozefina Gregurić wife of Prime Minister Franjo Gregurić
Erika Šarinićwife of Prime Minister Hrvoje Šarinić
Antonela Valentićwife of Prime Minister Nikica Valentić
Sanja Gregurić-Matešawife of Prime Minister Zlatko Mateša
Dijana Pleštinawife of Prime Minister Ivica Račan
Mirjana Sanader wife of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader
Jadranka Kosor divorced before becoming prime minister
Sanja Musić Milanovićwife of Prime Minister Zoran Milanović
Sanja Dujmović Oreškovićwife of Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković
Ana Maslać Plenkovićwife of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković

Living former heads of government of Croatia

There are eleven living former heads of government. The last former head of government to die was Hrvoje Šarinić on 21 July 2017.
Presidents of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Croatia :
Prime ministers of the Republic of Croatia :

Facts and records of Croatian prime ministers (since 30 May 1990)

Age at appointment