Croatia office held by head of government Prime Minister of Croatia
Croatia joined the Partnership for Peace on 25 May 2000 and became a member of the World Trade Organization on 30 November 2000. On 29 October 2001, Croatia signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union, submitted a formal application for the EU membership in 2003, was given the status of candidate country in 2004, and began accession negotiations in 2005.In December 2011, Croatia completed EU accession negotiations and signed an EU accession treaty on 9 December 2011. Croatia joined the European Union on 1 July 2013. A recurring obstacle to the negotiations was Croatia's ICTY co-operation record and Slovenian blocking of the negotiations because of Croatia–Slovenia border disputes.Although the Croatian economy had enjoyed a significant boom in the early 2000s, the financial crisis in 2008 forced the government to cut spending, thus provoking a public outcry.Croatia served on the United Nations Security Council for the 2008–2009 term, assuming the presidency in December 2008. On 1 April 2009, Croatia joined NATO.A wave of anti-government protests in early 2011 reflected a general dissatisfaction with politics and economics.Croatia completed EU accession negotiations in 2011. A majority of Croatian voters opted in favour of EU membership in a 2012 referendum., Croatia joined the European Union effective 1 July 2013. Croatia was affected by the 2015 European migrant crisis when Hungary's closure of borders with Serbia pushed over 700,000 refugees and migrants to pass through Croatia on their way to other countries.On 19 October 2016, Andrej Plenković began serving as Croatian Prime Minister. The most recent presidential elections, on 5 January 2020, elected Zoran Milanović as president.Governance
The Republic of Croatia is a unitary, constitutional state using a parliamentary system. Government powers in Croatia are legislative, executive, and judiciary powers.
The president of the republic (Croatian: Predsjednik Republike) is the head of state, directly elected to a five-year term and is limited by the Constitution to two terms. In addition to serving as commander in chief of the armed forces, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the prime minister with the parliament and has some influence on foreign policy.The Government is headed by the prime minister, who has four deputy prime ministers and 16 ministers in charge of particular sectors. As the executive branch, it is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, enforcing the laws, and guiding foreign and internal policies. The Government is seated at Banski dvori in Zagreb.Law and judicial system
A unicameral parliament (Sabor) holds legislative power. The number of Sabor members can vary from 100 to 160. They are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Legislative sessions take place from 15 January to 15 July, and from 15 September to 15 December annually. The two largest political parties in Croatia are the Croatian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party of Croatia.Croatia has a civil law legal system in which law arises primarily from written statutes, with judges serving as implementers and not creators of law. Its development was largely influenced by German and Austrian legal systems. Croatian law is divided into two principal areas—private and public law. Before EU accession negotiations were completed, Croatian legislation had been fully harmonised with the Community acquis.The main national courts are the Constitutional Court, which oversees violations of the Constitution, and the Supreme Court, which is the highest court of appeal. Administrative, Commercial, County, Misdemeanor, and Municipal courts handle cases in their respective domains. Cases falling within judicial jurisdiction are in the first instance decided by a single professional judge, while appeals are deliberated in mixed tribunals of professional judges. Lay magistrates also participate in trials. The State's Attorney Office is the judicial body constituted of public prosecutors empowered to instigate prosecution of perpetrators of offences.Law enforcement agencies are organised under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior which consist primarily of the national police force. Croatia's security service is the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA).
Head of Government Position Chief Minister of State Prime Ministership Chief of Executive State Premier