Krešo Beljak

Krešo Beljak
President of the Croatian Peasant Party
Assumed office
19 March 2016
Preceded by Branko Hrg
Mayor of Samobor
(3 terms)
Assumed office
4 June 2009
Personal details
Born (1971-08-22) 22 August 1971
Brežice, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality Croat
Political party Croatian Peasant Party (2003–present)
Children 3
Residence Samobor, Croatia
Alma mater University of Zagreb
Occupation Politician
Profession Geography professor

Krešo Beljak (Croatian pronunciation: [krěːʃo bêʎaːk]; 22 August 1971) is a Croatian politician who has been mayor of Samobor since 2009 and member of the Croatian Parliament since 2016.[1] Beljak is president of the centrist Croatian Peasant Party (HSS).[2]

Early life and education

Krešo Beljak was born in the Slovenian town of Brežice on August 22, 1971. After finishing Janko Mišić Elementary School in the town of Samobor (later renamed into Samobor Elementary School) he enrolled in the Education Center for Automation, Energy and Process Engineering "Nikola Tesla" in Zagreb. After finishing high school, he enrolled at the Zagreb Faculty of Science from which he graduated in 1999 and has become geography professor. In 2016, Beljak completed a postgraduate specialist study in Foreign Policy and Diplomacy at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Zagreb.[3]

Between 1990 and 1992, Beljak participated in the Croatian War of Independence as a member of the 15th Samobor Brigade for which he was decorated with the Homeland War Memorial Medal.[4]

Career

After graduation, Beljak moved to Germany where he lived and worked until 2002 when he returned to Croatia and started working as a geography professor at the Samobor Vocational High School. In 2008, he got employed as professional adviser at the Public Administration for the Management of Protected Areas and Other Protected Natural Values in the Zagreb County.[3]

Political career

Beljak become member of the Croatian Peasant Party in 2003. At the 2003 local committees elections he was elected as a councilor in the Council of Ferdo Livadić - Samobor Local Committee. In 2004, he became secretary of HSS Samobor branch, and in 2005 branches commissioner. In July 2005, he was elected president of the HSS branch in the "Ferdo Livadić" Local Committee. In May 2006, Beljak was elected new president of the HSS Samobor branch, winning 75% of the votes. In the same year, he became a member of the council of the HSS Zagreb County branch and later a member of the HSS Council of Experts where he was charged with creating the official party concept of the Croatian administrative division. In 2008, he was elected as one of 30 members of HSS Main Board and ipso facto served as a member of the Presidency of the HSS Zagreb County branch. At the 2009 local elections, he was elected mayor of Samobor.[5] In January 2012, at the HSS General Assembly, he was elected as one of the five vice-presidents of the HSS with the highest number of votes of all 13 candidates. At the 2013 local elections, Beljak was re-elected as mayor. In March 2016, he was elected President of the HSS, and re-elected on January 14, 2017.[6] Beljak was elected to the Croatian Parliament at the 2016 parliamentary election.[3] At the 2017 local elections, Beljak was re-elected as mayor of Samobor for a third time.

He is in favor of abortion rights and refuses to classify Croatian Peasant Party as conservative stating that "all political parties should be somewhat liberal".[7][8]

Private life

Beljak lives in Samobor with his wife and their three children. He speaks English and German fluently.

References

  1. ↑ "Hrvatski sabor - Krešo Beljak". Sabor.hr. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  2. ↑ "HRT: Krešo Beljak je novi predsjednik HSS-a" (in Croatian). Vijesti.hrt.hr. 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  3. 1 2 3 "Predsjednik - Hrvatska seljačka stranka". Hss.hr. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  4. ↑ "Krešo Beljak - profesor koji je preuzeo HSS - tportal". Tportal.hr. 2016-03-20. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  5. ↑ "Novi lider HSS-a: Osuđivan za četiri provale u aute". Express.hr. 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  6. ↑ I.D. (2017-01-14). "Krešo Beljak izabran za predsjednika HSS-a: "Ova skupština je početak novog HSS-a"". Dnevnik.hr. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  7. ↑ "Beljak ukrao slavlje HSLS-u: 'Nazadna je ideja zabrane pobačaja. Zašto liberali nisu na skupu' - Jutarnji List". Jutarnji.hr. 2016-05-21. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  8. ↑ "Krešo Beljak o odluci Ustavnog suda o pobačaju | N1 HR". Hr.n1info.com. 2017-03-02. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.