Prime Minister of Croatia

The Prime Minister of Croatia, officially President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Predsjednik Vlade Republike Hrvatske), is Croatia's head of government. In the formal Croatian order of precedence used in ceremonial matters, the position of prime minister is the third most important Croatian state office, behind the President of the Republic and the President of 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.^[1]

The prime minister is today the most powerful and the most important person in the Croatian system of government. Since 2000, the prime minister has had various added constitutional powers and happens to be mentioned earlier than the Government itself in the text of the Constitution, in Articles 87, 97, 99, 100, 101, 103, 104.^[1] 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.

History

The first head of government and Prime Minister of Croatia (then the People's Republic of Croatia by full name) was Vladimir Bakarić (Predsjednik Vlade), who assumed the position on 14 April 1945. The position was then, as it is today, the most powerful public office in the state (which was then part of the Yugoslav federation). 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), and remained the central office of Croatian politics in spite of the institution of a collective Presidency (previously the mostly-nominal function of the head of state belonged to the speaker of the Croatian parliament, the Sabor). After another round of constitutional reforms in 1990, the office was was renamed back to its original 1945-1953 title of "Prime Minister" (Predsjednik Vlade). Since then, Croatia has had nine holders of the title, eight of them nominated by the Croatian Democratic Union. The first Prime Minister of Croatia since the 1990 constitutional reforms was Stjepan Mesić, assuming office on 30 May 1990.^[2][3] Franjo Gregurić was the first prime minister of Croatia after the secession from Yugoslavia.

List

Within Yugoslavia

In the Socialist Republic of Croatia, which was at the time a federal republic in 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).

      League of Communists of Yugoslavia       League of Communists of Croatia

After the first multi-party elections

After the constitutional amendments that allowed the first multi-party elections in SR Croatia, the Croatian parliamentary election, 1990 was held and for the first time a Croatian government did not come from the ranks of the League of Communists of Croatia. Stjepan Mesić led the first such government. The Parliament enacted amendments to the constitution on July 25 which eliminated socialist references, adopted new national symbols, and redefined the socialist Executive Council as the Government of Croatia. 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.

      Croatian Democratic Union

Since independence

Croatia proclaimed independence from SFR 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 the Gregurić cabinet was modeled as a Government of National Unity. In October the same year, Croatia formally declared independence. It was internationally recognized by January 1992 and admitted to the United Nations in May that year.

Until 2000 the country employed a semi-presidential system. 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 it into a parliamentary republic.

      Croatian Democratic Union       Social Democratic Party

See also

• List of Croatian Governments
• Politics of Croatia
• President of Croatia
• List of Presidents of Croatia
• List of heads of state of Yugoslavia
• Prime Minister of Yugoslavia

References