Prime Minister of Croatia

The prime minister of Croatia, officially called the president of the government of the Republic of Croatia, is the main leader of the country. This person is the most powerful and important leader in Croatia's government system. The role of prime minister was first created in 1945, and since 2000, the prime minister has had many important powers.

In Croatia's official order, the prime minister is the third most important position, after the president of the country and the speaker of the Parliament. The Constitution of Croatia describes the duties of the prime minister and the government. The current prime minister is Andrej Plenković. The government meets in a historic building called Banski dvori, located on the west side of St. Mark's Square in the capital city, Zagreb.

Name

The official name for the leader of Croatia's government is "President of the Government" (Predsjednik / Predsjednica Vlade). While this is the formal title, many people also use the shorter term Premijer / Premijerka, which means Premier.

History

Background

The Royal Government of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (1868–1918) was led by the Ban of Croatia, who acted as a representative of the King.

In 1945, when Croatia became part of Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, Vladimir Bakarić became the first head of government. At that time, this role was very powerful because the country had only one political party. In 1952, the title changed to President of the Executive Council. Savka Dabčević-Kučar was the first woman in Europe to hold a similar position from 1967 to 1969.

Transition to independence

After changes allowing multi-party elections in Croatia in 1990, Stjepan Mesić became the head of government. Later that year, the Croatian Parliament made big changes to the constitution, creating the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

In December 1990, Croatia changed its constitution again, called the "Christmas Constitution". This made Croatia a semi-presidential republic, meaning the president of Croatia had strong powers, including choosing the prime minister.

In June 1991, after a vote, Croatia proclaimed independence from Yugoslavia. Josip Manolić was the prime minister at that time. Later that year, Franjo Gregurić led a special government during the Croatian War of Independence.

Since independence

From 1990 to 2000, Croatia had seven prime ministers. After elections in January 2000, changes were made to the constitution. The president's powers were reduced, and the prime minister became the main leader in Croatian politics.

By 2025, there had been 12 prime ministers leading 16 governments since multi-party elections began. Most were from the Croatian Democratic Union, some from the Social Democratic Party, and one was not part of any political party. Jadranka Kosor was the first woman to serve as prime minister.

List of prime ministers

Croatia formally declared itself independent on 25 June 1991. After this, the leader was still called the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia.

Notes

1.^ From 1990 until changes in 2000, the Prime Minister’s term started when the President appointed them, not after getting support from Parliament like it does now.

2.^ Until 12 October 2010.

Timeline

This is a graphical timeline showing the lifetimes of the prime ministers of Croatia. They are listed in the order they held office.

Spouses of prime ministers