Prime Minister of Croatia

President of the Government of Croatia Predsjednik Vlade Republike Hrvatske
Coat of Arms of Croatia
Incumbent Zoran Milanović since 23 December 2011
Style	His Excellency
Appointer	President of the Republic
Inaugural holder	Stjepan Mesić
Formation	30 May 1990
Website	www.vlada.hr

The Prime Minister of Croatia, officially the President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Predsjednik Vlade Republike Hrvatske), is Croatia's head of government, and is the de facto most powerful and influential state officeholder in the Croatian system of government. Following the first-time establishment of the office in 1945, the 1990-2001 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 the Parliament "supervises" the Government (Article 81) and that the President of the Republic "ensures the regular and balanced functioning and stability of government" (as a whole; Article 94), 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 Zoran Milanović. 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" (Predsjednik Vlade), rather than "Prime Minister" (Prvi Ministar). 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" (Predsjednik Izvršnog Vijeća). 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 (especially in the media) in English-language usage.

History

See also: Secretary of the League of Communists of Croatia

The first Prime Minister of Croatia 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 (the only exception in that regard is the 1990-2000 semi-presidential period, during which the President was the most significant figure). In post-World War II Croatia, which was at the time a constituent republic of Yugoslavia, 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 (KPJ), which was reformed and renamed into the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ) 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 (SKH), the Croatian part of the federal party (as was respectively the case with all Yugoslav politicians). The office remained the central post of Croatian politics in spite of the institution of a collective Presidency in 1974 (previously the mostly-nominal function of the head of state belonged to the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, the Sabor).

After the constitutional amendments that allowed for multi-party elections in Croatia, the Parliament enacted amendments to the constitution (25 July) 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. Since the 1990 constitution Croatia was a semi-presidential republic, which meant the President of Croatia had broad executive powers, including naming the Prime Minister and dissolving the government. During this period, lasting until 2000/2001, Croatia had nine prime ministers. The first Prime Minister of Croatia since the 1990 constitutional reforms was Stjepan Mesić, assuming office on 30 May 1990.

Croatia proclaimed independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991 following the May 1991 independence referendum. However, the country then signed the July 1991 Brijuni Agreement in which it agreed to postpone the formal declaration of independence for three months. 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 declared independence, with Gregurić continuing on as the first prime minister of Croatia after the secession from Yugoslavia.

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 (as before 1990) became the foremost post in Croatian politics.

List

      League of Communists of Yugoslavia       League of Communists of Croatia       Croatian Democratic Union       Social Democratic Party of Croatia

No.	Name (Born–Died)	Portrait	Term of Office			Political party	Election	Cabinet	Cabinet parties
			Took Office	Left Office	Duration
N/A	Pavle Gregorić (1892–1989)		7 March 1945	14 April 1945	39 days	Communist Party of Yugoslavia	—	Gregorić	KSH
1	Vladimir Bakarić (1912–1983)		14 April 1945	18 December 1953	8 years, 7 months, 18 days	Communist Party of Yugoslavia (party renamed in 1952) League of Communists of Yugoslavia (party renamed in 1952)	—	Bakarić 1st Executive Council	KSH
			President of the Government of the People's Republic of Croatia from 1945 to 1953. On 6 February 1953 he was elected to the new position of President of the Executive Council. Simultaneously held these positions along with the post of Secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia. Subsequently became President of the Parliament of the People's Republic of Croatia (1953–1963).
2	Jakov Blažević (1912–1996)		18 December 1953	10 July 1962	8 years, 7 months	League of Communists of Yugoslavia	—	2nd Executive Council 3rd Executive Council	SKH
			Resigned as President of the Executive Council to take the post of president of the Chamber of Commerce of Yugoslavia. He was replaced by Zvonko Brkić for the remainder of the term of the 3rd Executive Council.
3	Zvonko Brkić (1912–1977)		10 July 1962	June 1963	11 months	League of Communists of Yugoslavia	—	3rd Executive Council	SKH
			Member of the Executive Council from 1953 to 1963. After Jakov Blažević's resignation as President of the Executive Council he served the remainder of his term. He subsequently became Vice President of the Federal Assembly (1963–1967).
4	Mika Špiljak (1916–2007)		June 1963	11 May 1967	3 years, 11 months	League of Communists of Yugoslavia	—	4th Executive Council	SKH
			Became President of the Federal Executive Council on 16 May 1967.
5	Savka Dabčević-Kučar (1923–2009)		11 May 1967	8 May 1969	2 years	League of Communists of Yugoslavia	—	5th Executive Council	SKH
			After her term expired she was immediately appointed Secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia (1969–1971).
6	Dragutin Haramija (1923–2012)		May 1969	28 December 1971	2 years, 7 months	League of Communists of Yugoslavia	—	6th Executive Council	SKH
			Denounced at the XXI. Meeting of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia held in Karađorđevo on 1 and 2 December 1971 and forced to resign. Subsequently withdrew from politics.
7	Ivo Perišin (1925–2008)	80px	28 December 1971	8 May 1974	2 years, 4 months	League of Communists of Yugoslavia	—	7th Executive Council	SKH
			Subsequently served as President of the Parliament of the Socialist Republic of Croatia (1974–1978).
8	Jakov Sirotković (1922–2002)		8 May 1974	9 May 1978	4 years, 1 month	League of Communists of Yugoslavia	—	8th Executive Council	SKH
9	Petar Fleković (1932–)		9 May 1978	May 1982	4 years	League of Communists of Yugoslavia	—	9th Executive Council	SKH
			Subsequently named director of INA (1982–1990).
10	Ante Marković (1924–2011)		May 1982	10 May 1986	4 years	League of Communists of Yugoslavia	—	10th Executive Council	SKH
			Elected by Parliament as President of the Presidency of SR Croatia on 10 May 1986.
11	Antun Milović (1934–2008)		10 May 1986	30 May 1990	4 years, 21 days	League of Communists of Yugoslavia (until January 1990) League of Communists of Croatia (from January 1990)	—	11th Executive Council	SKH
Following the 1990 parliamentary election and constitutional reforms
1 (12)	Stjepan Mesić (1934–)		30 May 1990	24 August 1990	86 days	Croatian Democratic Union	1990	Mesić	HDZ
2 (13)	Josip Manolić (1920–)		24 August 1990	17 July 1991	327 days	Croatian Democratic Union	—	Manolić	HDZ
3 (14)	Franjo Gregurić (1939–)		17 July 1991	12 August 1992	1 year, 26 days	National unity government	—	Gregurić	HDZ,SDP,SDSH, HSLS,HKDS
4 (15)	Hrvoje Šarinić (1935–)		12 August 1992	3 April 1993	1 year, 234 days	Croatian Democratic Union	1992	Šarinić	HDZ
5 (16)	Nikica Valentić (1950–)		3 April 1993	7 November 1995	2 years, 218 days	Croatian Democratic Union	—	Valentić	HDZ
6 (17)	Zlatko Mateša (1949–)		7 November 1995	27 January 2000	4 years, 81 days	Croatian Democratic Union	1995	Mateša	HDZ
7 (18)	Ivica Račan (1944–2007)	80px	27 January 2000	30 July 2002	3 years, 330 days	Social Democratic Party	2000	Račan I	SDP,HSLS,HNS, HSS,IDS,LS
			30 July 2002	23 December 2003				Račan II	SDP,HNS,HSS, LS,Libra
8 (19)	Ivo Sanader (1953–)		23 December 2003	12 January 2008	5 years, 195 days	Croatian Democratic Union	2003	Sanader I	HDZ
			12 January 2008	6 July 2009			2007	Sanader II	HDZ,HSLS,HSS, SDSS
9 (20)	Jadranka Kosor (1953–)		6 July 2009	23 December 2011	2 years, 170 days	Croatian Democratic Union	—	Kosor	HDZ,HSLS,HSS, SDSS
10 (21)	Zoran Milanović (1966–)		23 December 2011	Incumbent		Social Democratic Party	2011	Milanović	SDP,HNS-LD, IDS

Statistics

#	Prime Minister	Date of birth	Age at ascension (first term)	Time in office (total)	Age at retirement (last term)	Date of death	Longevity
1	Mesić, StjepanStjepan Mesić	19341224December 24, 1934(December 24, 1934)	55 15755 years, 157 days	00 0860 years, 86 days	55 24355 years, 243 days	Living	(Living)
2	Manolić, JosipJosip Manolić	19200322March 22, 1920(March 22, 1920)	70 15570 years, 155 days	00 3270 years, 327 days	71 11771 years, 117 days	Living	(Living)
3	Gregurić, FranjoFranjo Gregurić	19391012October 12, 1939(October 12, 1939)	51 27851 years, 278 days	01 0261 year, 26 days	52 30552 years, 305 days	Living	(Living)
4	Szarinić, HrvojeHrvoje Šarinić	19350217February 17, 1935(February 17, 1935)	57 17757 years, 177 days	00 2340 years, 234 days	58 04558 years, 45 days	Living	(Living)
5	Valentić, NikicaNikica Valentić	19501124November 24, 1950(November 24, 1950)	42 13042 years, 130 days	02 2182 years, 218 days	44 34844 years, 348 days	Living	(Living)
6	Matesza, ZlatkoZlatko Mateša	19490617June 17, 1949(June 17, 1949)	46 14346 years, 143 days	04 0814 years, 81 days	50 22450 years, 224 days	Living	(Living)
7	Raczan, IvicaIvica Račan	19440224February 24, 1944(February 24, 1944)	55 33755 years, 337 days	03 3303 years, 330 days	59 30259 years, 302 days	20070429April 29, 2007	63 years, 64 days
8	Sanader, IvoIvo Sanader	19530608June 8, 1953(June 8, 1953)	50 19850 years, 198 days	05 1955 years, 195 days	56 02856 years, 28 days	Living	(Living)
9	Kosor, JadrankaJadranka Kosor	19530701July 1, 1953(July 1, 1953)	56 00556 years, 5 days	02 1702 years, 170 days	58 17558 years, 175 days	Living	(Living)
10	Milanović, ZoranZoran Milanović	19661030October 30, 1966(October 30, 1966)	45 05445 years, 54 days	02 271 (Ongoing)	Incumbent	Living	(Living)

See also

• List of Croatian Governments
• President of Croatia
  • List of Presidents of Croatia
• Speaker of the Croatian Parliament
• Secretary of the League of Communists of Croatia
• Politics of Croatia
• List of heads of state of Yugoslavia
• Prime Minister of Yugoslavia