| President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia | |
|---|---|
| Predsjednik Vlade Republike Hrvatske | |
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.jpg) | |
| Government of Croatia Office of the President of the Government | |
| Style |
|
| Type | Head of Government |
| Member of |
|
| Reports to | Croatian Parliament |
| Seat | Banski Dvori, Trg sv. Marka 2, Zagreb, Croatia |
| Nominator | President of Croatia |
| Appointer | Croatian Parliament |
| Term length | At 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 instrument | Constitution of Croatia |
| Inaugural holder | Stjepan Mesić (after adoption of constitutional Amendment LXXIII)[2] Josip Manolić (under currentConstitution) |
| Formation | 25 July 1990 (by constitutional Amendment LXXIII)[3] 22 December 1990 (under currentConstitution) |
| Deputy | Deputy Prime Minister (position held by one or more members of the government) |
| Salary | €66 400 yearly[4] |
| Website | vlada |
Theprime minister of Croatia, officially thepresident of the government of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian:Predsjednik / Predsjednica Vlade Republike Hrvatske), isCroatia'shead of government, and isde 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 1990–2000semi-presidential period is the only exception where thepresident of Croatia heldde facto executive 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 thespeaker of the Parliament.
TheConstitution 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.[5] 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.[5] The current prime minister of Croatia isAndrej Plenković. TheGovernment of Croatia meets inBanski dvori, a historical building located on the west side ofSt. Mark's Square inZagreb.
The official name of the office, literally translated, is "President of the Government" (Predsjednik / Predsjednica Vlade), rather than a literal translation of "Prime Minister" (Prvi Ministar). In Croatian, the shorter termPremijer / Premijerka (Premier) is commonly used as well.
The Royal Government of theKingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (1868–1918) was headed by theBan of Croatia (Viceroy), who represented the King.
The first head of government of Croatia as a constituent republic ofFederal People's Republic of Yugoslavia wasVladimir Bakarić, who assumed the position on 14 April 1945. The position was thenthe most powerful public office in the state in addition to the position of theSecretary of the League of Communists of Croatia, as a single-party system was in place. The head of government was renamed to the President of the Executive Council in 1952. Notably,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).
After the constitutional amendments that allowed formulti-party elections in Croatia in 1990, the country was still aconstituent republic of SFR Yugoslavia, the position of thePresident of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Croatia was filled byStjepan Mesić on 30 May 1990 (the 14th Executive Council).
The newly-electedCroatian Parliament enacted numerous amendments to the constitution on 25 July 1990. It eliminated socialist references and adopted new national symbols, while theGovernment of the Republic of Croatia was formally instituted by Amendment LXXIII.[6]
TheConstitution of Croatia was subsequently also changed significantly on 22 December 1990, as the so-called "Christmas Constitution" fundamentally defined theRepublic of Croatia and its governmental structure. From this point onwards, Croatia was asemi-presidential republic, which meant thepresident of Croatia had broad executive powers (further expanded with laws to a point ofsuperpresidentialism), including the appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and other officials in the government.
Following theMay 1991 independence referendum in which 93% of voters approved secession, Croatia formallyproclaimed independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991, withJosip Manolić continuing in the role of prime minister as head of government of an independent Croatia. However, the country then signed the July 1991Brijuni Agreement in which it agreed to postpone further activities towards severing ties withYugoslavia. Meanwhile, theCroatian War of Independence ensued, andFranjo Gregurić was appointed to lead aGovernment of National Unity. In October the same year, Croatia formally severed all remaining legal ties with the Yugoslav Federation.
During the period between 1990 and the next constitutional amendments in late 2000, Croatia had seven prime ministers.[7][8]
Following theJanuary 2000 general election the winning centre-left coalition led by theSocial 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 aparliamentary republic. The prime minister again (as before 1990) became the foremost post in Croatian politics.
As of 2025 there have been 12 Prime Ministers who have chaired 16 governments since the first multi-party elections. Nine prime ministers were members of theCroatian Democratic Union during their terms of office, two were members of theSocial Democratic Party and one was not a member of any political party. Since independence there has been one female prime minister (Jadranka Kosor).[9]
| 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 | Mesić | HDZ | Franjo Tuđman  (1990–1999) |
| 2 |  | Josip Manolić (1920–2024) | — | 24 August 1990[1] | 25 June 1991 | 305 days | HDZ Croatian Democratic Union | Manolić | HDZ | |
Croatia formallydeclared itself independent on 25 June 1991. After the declaration of independence, the position continued to be named the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia.
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Election | Term of office | Party | Cabinet | Composition | President (Term) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term start | Term end | Duration | ||||||||
| 2 | | Josip Manolić (1920–2024) | — | 25 June 1991 | 17 July 1991 | 22 days | HDZ Croatian Democratic Union | Manolić | HDZ | Franjo Tuđman (1990–1999) |
| 3 | .jpg) | Franjo Gregurić (1939–) | — | 17 July 1991[2] | 12 August 1992 | 1 year, 26 days | HDZ Croatian Democratic Union | Gregurić | HDZ • SDP • HSLS • HNS • HKDS • HDS • SDSH • SSH | |
| 4 |  | Hrvoje Šarinić (1935–2017) | 1992 | 12 August 1992[3] | 3 April 1993 | 234 days | HDZ Croatian Democratic Union | Šarinić | HDZ | |
| 5 |  | Nikica Valentić (1950–2023) | — | 3 April 1993[4] | 7 November 1995 | 2 years, 218 days | HDZ Croatian Democratic Union | Valentić | From 3 April 1993 to 31 December 1994: HDZ • HSS | |
| From 31 December 1994 to 7 November 1995: HDZ | ||||||||||
| 6 |  | Zlatko Mateša (1949–) | 1995 | 7 November 1995[5] | 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[6] | 23 December 2003 | 3 years, 330 days | SDP Social Democratic Party | Račan I | SDP • HSLS • HNS • HSS • IDS • LS | |
| Račan II | SDP • HSS • HNS • Libra • LS | |||||||||
| 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 • HSLS • HSS • SDSS | ||||||||
| 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 | 9 years, 6 days | HDZ Croatian Democratic Union | Plenković I | From 19 October 2016 to 28 April 2017: HDZ • MOST | |
| From 28 April to 9 June 2017: HDZ | ||||||||||
| From 9 June 2017 to 23 July 2020: HDZ • HNS | Zoran Milanović (2020–present) | |||||||||
| 2020 | Plenković II | HDZ • SDSS | ||||||||
| 2024 | Plenković III | HDZ • DP | ||||||||
This is agraphicallifespan timeline of prime ministers of Croatia. They are listed in order of office.
| Name | Relation to Prime Minister |
|---|---|
| Milka Mesić (née Dudunić) | wife of Prime MinisterStjepan Mesić |
| Marija Eker Manolić | wife of Prime MinisterJosip Manolić |
| Jozefina Gregurić (née Abramović) | wife of Prime MinisterFranjo Gregurić |
| Erika Šarinić | wife of Prime MinisterHrvoje Šarinić |
| Antonela Valentić | wife of Prime MinisterNikica Valentić |
| Sanja Gregurić-Mateša | wife of Prime MinisterZlatko Mateša |
| Dijana Pleština | wife of Prime MinisterIvica Račan |
| Mirjana Sanader (née Šarić) | wife of Prime MinisterIvo Sanader |
| Jadranka Kosor divorced before becoming prime minister | |
| Sanja Musić Milanović | wife of Prime MinisterZoran Milanović |
| Sanja Dujmović Orešković | wife of Prime MinisterTihomir Orešković |
| Ana Maslać Plenković | wife of Prime MinisterAndrej Plenković |
Preceded byPresidents of the Executive Council of SR Croatia(1945–1990) | |
| Following the first multi-party elections (1990–1991) | .svg) |
| Since independence (1991–) | |
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