Prime Minister of Croatia

The prime minister of Croatia (Croatian: Premijer / Premijerka Hrvatske), officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Predsjednik / Predsjednica Vlade Republike Hrvatske), 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.

President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia
Predsjednik / Predsjednica Vlade Republike Hrvatske
Incumbent
Andrej Plenković
since 19 October 2016
Government of Croatia
Office of the Prime Minister
Style
  • Mr. Prime Minister or President of the Government
    Croatian: Gospodin predsjednik Vlade (formal)
  • His Excellency
    Croatian: Njegova ekscelencija (in international correspondence and abroad only)[1]
TypeHead of Government
Member ofGovernment of Croatia
European Council (EU)

Also:
North Atlantic Council (NATO)
Reports toCroatian Parliament
SeatTrg sv. Marka 2,
Zagreb, Croatia
NominatorPresident of Croatia
AppointerCroatian Parliament
Term lengthAt the pleasure of the parliamentary majority. Parliamentary elections must be held no later than 60 days after the expiration of a full parliamentary term of 4 years, but an incumbent Prime Minister shall remain in office in a caretaker capacity until a new government is confirmed in Parliament and sworn in by its Speaker.
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Croatia
Inaugural holderStjepan Mesić (de facto, after first multi-party election)
Josip Manolić (de jure, under current Constitution)
Formation30 May 1990 (de facto, after first multi-party election)
22 December 1990 (de jure, under current Constitution)
DeputyDeputy Prime Minister
(position held by one or more members of the government)
SalaryHRK 21,655 monthly[2]
Websitewww.vlada.hr
Croatia
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Croatia

The Constitution of Croatia prescribes that "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.[3] 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.[3] 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" (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

The Royal Government of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (1868–1918) was headed by Ban (Viceroy), 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 (the only historical exception being the extremely powerful semi-presidential system used from 1990 until 2000, during which the president was by far the most significant figure in the government hierarchy). 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 (using the title President of the Executive Council), 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. From the 1990 constitutional reforms onward Croatia was a semi-presidential republic, which meant the president of Croatia had broad executive powers (further expanded with laws to a point of superpresidentialism), 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.[4][5]

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 (as before 1990) 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 (Jadranka Kosor), while Savka Dabčević-Kučar was the first woman (not only in Croatia, but in Europe) to hold an office equivalent to a head of government as Chairman of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Croatia (1967-1969).

Prime ministers of Croatia

Prime ministers of the Socialist Republic of Croatia within SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1990)
No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)		 Election Term of office Party Cabinet General
Secretary
(Term)
Term start Term end Duration
1 Vladimir Bakarić
(1912–1983)		 — 14 April 1945 18 December 1953 8 years, 248 days KPH
Communist Party of Croatia
(before 1952)		 Bakarić Vladimir
Bakarić

(1944–1969)
SKH
League of Communists of Croatia
(since 1952)		 1st Executive
Council
2 Jakov Blažević
(1912–1996)		 — 18 December 1953 10 July 1962 8 years, 204 days SKH
League of Communists of Croatia		 2nd Executive
Council
3rd Executive
Council
3 Zvonko Brkić
(1912–1977)		 — 10 July 1962 27 June 1963 352 days SKH
League of Communists of Croatia		 4th Executive
Council
4 Mika Špiljak
(1916–2007)		 — 27 June 1963 11 May 1967 3 years, 318 days SKH
League of Communists of Croatia		 5th Executive
Council
5 Savka Dabčević-Kučar
(1923–2009)		 — 11 May 1967 8 May 1969 1 year, 362 days SKH
League of Communists of Croatia		 6th Executive
Council
6 Dragutin Haramija
(1923–2012)		 — 8 May 1969 28 December 1971 2 years, 234 days SKH
League of Communists of Croatia		 7th Executive
Council		 Savka
Dabčević
Kučar

(1969–1971)
7 Ivo Perišin
(1925–2008)		 — 28 December 1971 8 May 1974 2 years, 131 days SKH
League of Communists of Croatia		 8th Executive
Council		 Milka
Planinc

(1971–1982)
8 Jakov Sirotković
(1922–2002)		 — 8 May 1974 9 May 1978 4 years, 1 day SKH
League of Communists of Croatia		 9th Executive
Council
9 Petar Fleković
(1932–)		 — 9 May 1978 10 May 1982 4 years,

1 day

 SKH
League of Communists of Croatia		 10th Executive
Council
10 Ante Marković
(1924–2011)		 — 10 May 1982 10 May 1986 4 years SKH
League of Communists of Croatia		 11th Executive
Council		 Jure Bilić

(1982–1983)
Josip Vrhovec

(1983–1984)
Mika Špiljak

(1984–1986)
12 Antun Milović
(1934–2008)		 — 10 May 1986 30 May 1990 4 years, 20 days SKH
League of Communists of Croatia
(before January 1990)		 12th Executive
Council		 Stanko
Stojčević

(1986–1989)
SDP
Social Democratic Party
(since January 1990)		 Ivica Račan

(1989–1990)

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

Still a part of SFR Yugoslavia until 25 June 1991.

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)		 Election Term of office Party Cabinet Composition President
(Term)
Term start Term end Duration
1 Stjepan Mesić
(1934–)		 1990 30 May 1990 24 August 1990 86 days HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union		 14th Executive
Council
(informally Mesić)		 HDZ Franjo
Tuđman

(1990–1999)
2 Josip Manolić
(1920–)		 — 24 August 1990 25 June 1991 327 days HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union		 Manolić HDZ
25 June 1991 17 July 1991
3 Franjo Gregurić
(1939–)		 — 17 July 1991 12 August 1992 1 year, 26 days HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union		 Gregurić HDZ • SDP • HSLS • HNS • HKDU • HDS • SSH
4 Hrvoje Šarinić
(1935–2017)		 1992 12 August 1992 3 April 1993 234 days HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union		 Šarinić HDZ
5 Nikica Valentić
(1950–)		 — 3 April 1993 7 November 1995 2 years, 218 days HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union		 Valentić HDZ
6 Zlatko Mateša
(1949–)		 1995 7 November 1995 27 January 2000 4 years, 81 days HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union		 Mateša HDZ
Stjepan
Mesić

(2000–2010)
7 Ivica Račan
(1944–2007)		 2000 27 January 2000 23 December 2003 3 years, 330 days SDP
Social Democratic Party		 Račan I SDP • HSLS • HNS • HSS
Račan II SDP • HSLS • HNS
8 Ivo Sanader
(1953–)		 2003 23 December 2003 6 July 2009 5 years, 195 days HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union		 Sanader I HDZ • DC
2007 Sanader II HDZ
9 Jadranka Kosor
(1953–)		 — 6 July 2009 23 December 2011 2 years, 170 days HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union		 Kosor HDZ • HSLS • HSS • SDSS
Ivo
Josipović

(2010–2015)
10 Zoran Milanović
(1966–)		 2011 23 December 2011 22 January 2016 4 years, 30 days SDP
Social Democratic Party		 Milanović SDP • HNS • IDS
Kolinda
Grabar
Kitarović

(2015–2020)
11 Tihomir Orešković
(1966–)		 2015 22 January 2016 19 October 2016 271 days Independent Orešković HDZ • MOST
12 Andrej Plenković
(1970–)		 2016 19 October 2016 Incumbent 3 years, 252 days HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union		 Plenković Before 28 April 2017:
HDZ • MOST
From 28 April to 9 June 2017:
HDZ
Since 9 June 2017:
HDZ • HNS		 Zoran
Milanović

(2020–present)

See also

Notes
  Denotes pre-independence Prime Ministers
1.^ From 1990 until the constitutional changes enacted in 2000, which replaced a powerful semi-presidential system (de facto a superpresidential system) with an incomplete parliamentary system, the term of the Prime Minister legally began on the date on which he was appointed by the President of the Republic and not on the date when he received a vote of confidence in Parliament, as is the case since 2000.
2.^ Until 12 October 2010.

Statistics
# Prime Minister Age at ascension
(first term)		 Time in office
(total)		 Age at retirement
(last term)		 Length of retirement Lifespan
1 Mesić, StjepanStjepan Mesić 55 years, 157 days 86 days 55 years, 243 days 29 years, 308 days (Living) 85 years, 186 days (Living)
2 Manolić, JosipJosip Manolić 70 years, 155 days 327 days 71 years, 117 days 28 years, 346 days (Living) 100 years, 97 days (Living)
3 Gregurić, FranjoFranjo Gregurić 51 years, 278 days 1 year, 26 days 52 years, 305 days 27 years, 320 days (Living) 80 years, 259 days (Living)
4 Szarinić, HrvojeHrvoje Šarinić 57 years, 177 days 234 days 58 years, 45 days 24 years, 109 days 82 years, 154 days
5 Valentić, NikicaNikica Valentić 42 years, 130 days 2 years, 218 days 44 years, 348 days 24 years, 233 days (Living) 69 years, 216 days (Living)
6 Matesza, ZlatkoZlatko Mateša 46 years, 143 days 4 years, 81 days 50 years, 224 days 20 years, 152 days (Living) 71 years, 10 days (Living)
7 Raczan, IvicaIvica Račan 55 years, 337 days 3 years, 330 days 59 years, 302 days 3 years, 127 days 63 years, 64 days
8 Sanader, IvoIvo Sanader 50 years, 198 days 5 years, 195 days 56 years, 28 days 10 years, 357 days (Living) 67 years, 19 days (Living)
9 Kosor, JadrankaJadranka Kosor 56 years, 5 days 2 years, 170 days 58 years, 175 days 8 years, 187 days (Living) 66 years, 362 days (Living)
10 Milanović, ZoranZoran Milanović 45 years, 54 days 4 years, 30 days 49 years, 84 days 4 years, 157 days (Living) 53 years, 241 days (Living)
11 Orešković, TihomirTihomir Orešković 50 years, 21 days 271 days 50 years, 292 days 3 years, 252 days (Living) 54 years, 178 days (Living)
12 Plenković, AndrejAndrej Plenković 46 years, 194 days 3 years, 252 days (Ongoing) Incumbent Serving 50 years, 80 days (Living)

Spouses of prime ministers
Name Relation to Prime Minister
Milka Mesić (née Dudunić) wife of Prime Minister Stjepan Mesić
Marija Eker Manolić wife of Prime Minister Josip Manolić
Jozefina Gregurić (née Abramović) wife of Prime Minister Franjo Gregurić
Erika Šarinić wife of Prime Minister Hrvoje Šarinić
Antonela Valentić wife of Prime Minister Nikica Valentić
Sanja Gregurić-Mateša wife of Prime Minister Zlatko Mateša
Dijana Pleština wife of Prime Minister Ivica Račan
Mirjana Sanader (née Šarić) wife of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader
Jadranka Kosor divorced before becoming prime minister
Sanja Musić Milanović wife of Prime Minister Zoran Milanović
Sanja Dujmović Orešković wife of Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković
Ana Maslać Plenković wife of Prime Minister Andrej Plenković

Living former heads of government of Croatia

There are eleven living former heads of government (2 former presidents of the Executive Council of SR Croatia and 8 former prime ministers of Croatia). The last former head of government to die was Hrvoje Šarinić (1992–1993) on 21 July 2017.

Presidents of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Croatia (until 1990):

  • Petar Fleković
    (1978–1982)
    (1932-09-14) September 14, 1932
  • Stjepan Mesić
    (1990)
    (1934-12-24) December 24, 1934

Prime ministers of the Republic of Croatia (1990–present):

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

Age at appointment

Age at retirement

Oldest and youngest living prime ministers

Longest and shortest lived prime ministers

Longest and shortest retirements
  • Living prime minister with the longest period lived after leaving office: Stjepan Mesić (29 years, 308 days)
  • Living prime minister with the shortest period lived after leaving office: Tihomir Orešković (3 years, 252 days)
  • Deceased prime minister with the longest period lived after leaving office: Hrvoje Šarinić (24 years, 109 days)
  • Deceased prime minister with the shortest period lived after leaving office: Ivica Račan (3 years, 127 days)

Age difference between incoming and outgoing officeholders
  • Largest age difference between an incoming and outgoing prime minister: Franjo Gregurić (born 12 October 1939) was 19 years, 204 days younger than Josip Manolić (born 22 March 1920) whom he succeeded in 1991.
  • Smallest age difference between an incoming and outgoing prime minister: Jadranka Kosor (born 1 July 1953) was 23 days younger than Ivo Sanader (born 8 June 1953) whom she succeeded in 2009.

Length of service

Terms of office and number of cabinets

Size of cabinet
  • Prime Minister of cabinet with largest number of members during its duration (including removed or deceased members): Franjo Gregurić (45 members including the Government secretary)
  • Prime Minister of cabinet with smallest number of members during its duration (including removed or deceased members): Ivo Sanader (19 members in First Sanader cabinet)
  • Prime Minister of cabinet with largest number of members on date of formation: Josip Manolić (27 members named on 17 July 1990)
  • Prime Minister of cabinet with smallest number of members on date of formation: Stjepan Mesić (5 members named on 30 May 1990. Another 15 named on 31 May 1990)
  • Prime Minister of cabinet with largest number of members on date of dissolution (excluding removed or deceased members): Franjo Gregurić (30 members on 12 August 1992)
  • Prime Minister of cabinet with smallest number of members on date of dissolution (excluding removed or deceased members): Ivo Sanader (14 members on 12 January 2008 upon dissolution of First Sanader Cabinet)

Number of political parties in cabinet
  • Prime ministers of cabinets with largest number of political parties represented in them during their total duration (including removed or deceased members on date of dissolution): Franjo Gregurić (8 parties had representation in his cabinet during some part of its time in office)
  • Prime ministers of cabinets with the smallest number of political parties represented in them during their total duration (including removed or deceased members): Stjepan Mesić, Josip Manolić, Hrvoje Šarinić and Zlatko Mateša (each prime minister had only 1 party (the HDZ) represented in their cabinet)
  • Prime minister of cabinet with the largest number of parties represented in it on the date of its formation: Ivica Račan (5 parties had representation in his First cabinet on 27 January 2000)
  • Prime ministers of cabinets with the smallest number of parties represented in them on the date of their formation: Stjepan Mesić, Josip Manolić, Hrvoje Šarinić and Zlatko Mateša (each prime minister had only 1 party (the HDZ) represented in their cabinet on the date it was formed)
  • Prime minister of the cabinet with the largest number of political parties represented in it on the date of its dissolution: Ivica Račan (5 parties were represented in his Second cabinet on 23 December 2003)
  • Prime ministers of cabinets with the smallest number of political parties represented in them on the date of their dissolution: Stjepan Mesić, Josip Manolić, Franjo Gregurić, Hrvoje Šarinić, Nikica Valentić, Zlatko Mateša and Ivo Sanader (First cabinet) (each prime minister had only 1 party (the HDZ) represented in their cabinet on the date it was dissolved)

Female prime ministers

Other national and international offices held after retirement

Foreign-born prime ministers

Prime ministers born in predecessor states of modern Croatia (before 1991)

Period lived before Croatian independence was declared (25 June 1991)
  • Oldest (future or previous) prime minister on date of Croatia's declaration of independence: Josip Manolić (71 years, 95 days)
  • Youngest (future or previous) prime minister on date of Croatia's declaration of independence: Andrej Plenković (21 years, 78 days)

Service under the most heads of state

References
  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2012-11-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), Protocol and Liaison Service, United Nations.
  2. Thomas, Mark. "Croatian political salaries - how much do Croatia's leading political figures earn - The Dubrovnik Times". www.thedubrovniktimes.com.
  3. "The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (consolidated text)". Croatian Parliament. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
  4. "Chronology of Croatian governments" (in Croatian). Croatian Information-Documentation Referral Agency. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  5. "Prethodne Vlade RH" [Former Governments of the Republic of Croatia] (in Croatian). Croatian Government. Archived from the original on 2011-11-23. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
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