Diplomatic Grand Slam

The year 2019 was a year of diplomatic successes for Croatia. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Marija Pejčinović Burić, won against the Belgian candidate in the final round and became the first Croatian to head the Council of Europe, one of the largest multilateral organizations, which brings together 46 countries. After Croatia succeeded in including demography in the EU's Strategic Agenda (2019–2024), Dubravka Šuica became the first Croatian appointed as Vice-President of the European Commission, in charge of "democracy and demography". In January, Maja Markovčić Kostelac assumed leadership of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) based in Lisbon. In April, Dubrovnik hosted the summit of the initiative that brought together 16 Central European countries and China. Alongside Croatian and Chinese Prime Ministers Andrej Plenković and Li Keqiang, the summit was attended by most of the participating countries' prime ministers.

2019

22 décembre–5 janvier

Photo : Office of the President

Zoran Milanović wins the presidential election

Former leader of the SDP (2007–2016) and Social Democratic Prime Minister (2011–2016), Zoran Milanović won the presidential election against the incumbent president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, with 52.66% of the votes in the second round on 5 January 2020. In the first round held on 22 December 2019, he had received 29.55% of the votes, compared to 26.65% for Mrs. Grabar-Kitarović, who had initially been the favourite. However, a significant portion of the conservative electorate ultimately shifted their support to the singer Miroslav Škoro, a surprise candidate who, after being eliminated in the first round, unexpectedly did not endorse the incumbent president. Škoro subsequently founded his own party, the Homeland Movement, which he left in 2021. On February 18th 2020, Zoran Milanović was inaugurated and became the 5th President of the Republic of Croatia.