CVs of members of new, 15th Croatian government

Croatian Parliament building (Photo credit: Jorge Lascar/CC license)

ZAGREB, July 20, 2020 (Hina) – Croatia’s new government, which Prime Minister-designate Andrej Plenkovic will present in parliament on Thursday, will have four deputy prime ministers, 16 ministries and four new names – two women ministers, one deputy prime minister and one former minister.

Plenkovic, a diplomat and a lawyer, was born in Zagreb on 8 April 1970. He is married with two children.

He graduated from the Zagreb Faculty of Law, where he also obtained a master’s degree in public and private international law.

He has been a member of the European and Croatian parliaments, and a state secretary for European integration in charge of a campaign for a referendum on Croatia’s EU membership held in January 2012.

Since 2016, he has been president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). He speaks English, French, Italian and Germany.

Four deputy prime ministers

A new name in the government will be Boris Milosevic of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) as deputy prime minister for social issues and human rights. The other deputy prime ministers will be Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic, Veterans Minister Tomo Medved and Finance Minister Zdravko Maric, who is not a member of the HDZ unlike the other two.

Milosevic was born in Sibenik on 5 November 1974. He graduated from the Rijeka Faculty of Law.

Milosevic was a legal advisor in the Serb National Council, assistant public administration minister in the Zoran Milanovic cabinet, and an SDSS MP.

Medved was born in Cetingrad on 17 March 1968 and is married with three children.

Medved is a Croatian Armed Forces brigadier general, was wounded three times in the Homeland War and is a veteran with 50% disability. He is a bachelor of economics and has a degree in strategic and operational planning at the Ban Josip Jelacic War College. 

Bozinovic was born in Pula on 27 December 1962 and is married with two children.

He graduated from and has a Zagreb Faculty of Political Sciences doctorate in international relations and national security. He has been an MP, a state secretary at the Foreign Ministry, an ambassador, and former president Stjepan Mesic’s chief of staff.

Maric was born in Slavonski Brod on 3 February 1977 and is married with two children.

He graduated and has a doctorate from the Zagreb Faculty of Economics & Business. He has spent most of his career in the Finance Ministry and was an executive in the former Agrokor conglomerate.

Two new women ministers

Another new name in the government is Nikolina Brnjac at the helm of the Tourism and Sports Ministry. She was born in Karlovac on 11 July 1978 and has a doctorate in transport and traffic technology from the Zagreb Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences.

Her previous post was state secretary at the Foreign Ministry, while before that she was state secretary at the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Ministry.

Brnjac has authored more than 50 articles on intermodal transport and logistics in national and international journals.

Another new name is Natasa Tramisak at the helm of the Regional Development and EU Funds Ministry. She was born on 6 May 1982 and has graduated from the Osijek Faculty of Law.

Her previous post was as head of the Osijek county office on EU investments, development projects and funds.

Tramisak is an expert in strategic planning, rural development project management and public procurement.

Radovan Fuchs is returning to the government as the minister of science and education. He was the minister of science, education and sports in the Jadranka Kosor cabinet. He was born in Zagreb on 5 September 1953 and is married with two sons.

Fuchs graduated from the Zagreb Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, has a master’s degree in biomedical sciences from the Zagreb Faculty of Science and a doctorate in toxicology and farmacology from the Uppsala Biomedical Centre.

From April 2018 to April 2019, Fuchs was a special advisor on the curricular reform in the Plenkovic cabinet.

Ministers from Plenkovic’s first cabinet who continue their ministerial work in new cabinet

In the new government, the economy portfolio will merge with sustainable development and the ministry will be helmed by Tomislav Coric, the environment and energy minister in the previous government.

Coric was born in Metkovic on 17 November 1979. He graduated from and has a doctorate in economic sciences from the Zagreb Faculty of Economics & Business. He speaks English and German.

Ivan Malenica, the public administration minister in the previous government, will now also be in charge of justice.

Malenica was born in Sibenik on 21 July 1985 and is married with two children. He graduated from and has a doctorate in public law and administration from the Zagreb Faculty of Law, and was dean of the Sibenik Polytechnic of Applied Sciences.

The labour and pension system portfolio will merge with social policy and the ministry will be run by Josip Aladrovic, the minister of labour and pension system in the previous government.

Aladrovic was born in Pozega on 10 March 1985 and is married with one child. He graduated in economics from the Zagreb Faculty of Economics & Business, where he also has a specialist graduate degree. He speaks English and German.

The Culture Ministry will be called the Ministry of Culture and Media and will continue to be helmed by Nina Obuljen Korzinek, who was born in Dubrovnik in 1970.

She has a doctorate in social sciences from the Zagreb Faculty of Political Sciences, and graduated in French and comparative literature from the Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences as well as in violin from the Zagreb Academy of Music. 

The minister of defence will be Mario Banozic, the minister of state assets in the previous government.

Banozic was born in Vinkovci on 10 March 1979 and is married with three children. He graduated and has a doctorate from the Osijek School of Economics. He was head of the Vukovar-Srijem County office for tourism and culture.

Darko Horvat, who was at the helm of the Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Ministry in the previous government, will now run the Construction, Physical Planning and State Assets Ministry.

Horvat was born in Cakovec on 28 September 1970. He is an electrical engineer who graduated from the University of Maribor, Slovenia.

He is a member of the Croatian Association of Certified Supervisory Board members, the International Council on Large Electric Systems and the International Conference and Exhibition on Electricity Distribution.

Gordan Grlic Radman remains the minister of foreign and European affairs. He was born in Tomislavgrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 6 June 1958 and is married with three children.

Grlic Radman graduated from the Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture and has a doctorate from the Faculty of Political Sciences. He has spent most of his carrier in the foreign ministry and speaks German, English, Bulgarian and Hungarian.

Vili Beros remains the minister of health. He is a neurosurgeon born in Split on 13 December 1964 and is married with two children.

Beros graduated from the Zagreb School of Medicine and has a doctorate in molecular biology from the Faculty of Science. He is an expert witness in neurosurgery.

Marija Vuckovic remains the minister of agriculture. She was born in Mostar, BiH, on 3 July 1974 and is married with three children. She has a master’s degree in economic sciences and is a court expert in finance and accounting. In her career, she has prepared and led a number of EU projects.

Oleg Butkovic remains the minister of the sea, transport and infrastructure. He was born in Rijeka on 4 May 1979 and is married with two children. He graduated and has a doctorate from the Rijeka Faculty of Maritime Studies and speaks English, Italian and German.