Andrej Plenković
Prime Minister of Croatia since 2016 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Andrej Plenković (pronounced [ǎndreːj plěːŋkoʋitɕ] listenⓘ; born 8 April 1970) is a Croatian politician serving as prime minister of Croatia since October 2016. He was previously one of eleven Croatian members of the European Parliament, serving from Croatia's accession to the European Union in 2013 until his resignation as MEP when he took office as prime minister.[1] Plenković has also been serving as the president of the Croatian Democratic Union since 2016.[2]
Andrej Plenković | |
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Prime Minister of Croatia | |
Assumed office 19 October 2016 | |
President | Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović Zoran Milanović |
Deputy | Davor Božinović (2019–) Tomo Medved (2020–) Oleg Butković (2022–) Marko Primorac (2024–) Josip Dabro (2024–) See former
|
Preceded by | Tihomir Orešković |
President of the Croatian Democratic Union | |
Assumed office 17 July 2016 | |
Secretary-General | Gordan Jandroković Krunoslav Katičić |
Preceded by | Tomislav Karamarko |
Member of the European Parliament | |
In office 1 July 2013 – 12 October 2016 | |
Constituency | Croatia |
Member of Parliament | |
In office 22 December 2011 – 28 September 2015 | |
Constituency | VII electoral district |
Personal details | |
Born | (1970-04-08) 8 April 1970 (age 54) Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia |
Political party | Croatian Democratic Union (2011–present) |
Spouse | |
Children | 3 |
Parents |
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Alma mater | University of Zagreb |
Awards | Order of Merit, 3rd class |
Website | Official website |
Following his graduation from the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb in 1993, Plenković held various bureaucratic positions in the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. After completing a postgraduate degree in 2002 (research master in international law), he served as deputy chief of Croatia's mission to the European Union. Between 2005 and 2010, he was Croatia's deputy ambassador to France, before leaving the post to become State Secretary for European Integration. He was elected to the Croatian Parliament in 2011.[3]
He was elected president of the HDZ in 2016, following Tomislav Karamarko's resignation. Plenković campaigned on a pro-European and moderate agenda and led his party to a plurality of seats in the 2016 parliamentary election. He was designated as Prime Minister of Croatia by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on 10 October 2016 after presenting 91 signatures of support by members of Parliament to her. His cabinet was confirmed by a vote of Parliament on 19 October with a majority of 91 out of 151 MPs. His first cabinet had 20 ministers, while the second cabinet has 16 ministers.
He is one of only two Croatian prime ministers (along with Ivo Sanader) who have served more than one term, winning general elections in 2016, 2020 and 2024. He is also, along with Ivica Račan and Sanader, one of the three prime ministers who have been at the head of more than one government cabinet. On 4 May 2022 Plenković surpassed Sanader's tenure, becoming the longest-serving prime minister in Croatia's post-independence history.[4][5][6]