Ivo Sanader
Ivo Sanader (born June 8, 1953 in Split, Croatia) is the current Prime Minister of Croatia (President of the Government).
He was named Prime Minister designate on December 9, 2003 by the President of the Republic and was formally appointed on December 23, 2003 when Croatian Parliament gave its consent by 88 votes (out of 152). He has taken the position after his party, the Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ, became the single largest party after Parliamentary elections. His predecessor as Prime Minister was Ivica Račan.
Sanader's political career took an unexpected bump after he suprisingly took charge in HDZ in 2000, following the death of Franjo Tuđman and parliamentary election fiasco. Previously he held a low-key role as Foreign Minister Mate Granić's deputy.
Sanader-led government succeeded to implement the remaining basic criteria for joining the European Union membership and under his leadership Croatia was admitted as an official candidate for the EU. Sanader's HDZ established better relations with minority parties and expressly rejected some previously tolerated jingoist ideas. It also extradited several more Croatian army officers to the ICTY without causing a major public uproar. All this, coupled with continued economic growth, contributed to the positive opinion of the European Commission and the European Council regarding Croatia's application.
Sanader has a PhD in Romance languages and comparative literature from Innsbruck University in Austria. He is fluent in four foreign languages: English, French, German and Italian. He is married with two children.
Categories: People stubs | 1953 births | Croatian politicians