Ivo Sanader took which position after Nov 2011?
Ivo Sanader Ivo Sanader ( born 8 June 1953 ) is a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009 . He is to date the longest-serving prime minister since independence , holding the office for over five and a half years before resigning in July 2009 . He is one of only two Croatian prime ministers ( along with Andrej Plenković ) who have served more than one term , winning general elections in 2003 and 2007 . He is also , along with Ivica Račan and Plenković , one of the three prime ministers who have been at the head of more than one government cabinet , chairing his first cabinet from 23 December 2003 until 12 January 2008 , and his second cabinet from 12 January 2008 until his resignation in July 2009 . Sanader obtained his education in comparative literature in Austria , where he also worked as a journalist , in marketing , publishing , and as an entrepreneur . In the 1990s , he was briefly the intendant of the Croatian National Theatre in Split before becoming Minister for Science and Technology as a member of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union ( HDZ ) in the Cabinet of Hrvoje Šarinić in 1992 . In 1993 , he moved into diplomacy and served two terms as Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs . Following the death of Franjo Tuđman , Sanader was elected leader of the HDZ party in 2000 , and again in 2002 , and led the party to victory in the 2003 , and 2007 elections , becoming Croatias prime minister . In June 2009 , Sanader abruptly resigned his post , leaving scarce explanation for his actions and disappearing from public life for a while . In January 2010 , Sanader tried to stage a political comeback within the HDZ , but was ejected from party membership . In December 2010 , Croatian authorities indicted him in two high-profile corruption cases . Sanader fled the country but was apprehended in Austria and then extradited to Croatia in July 2011 . In November 2012 , he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a first instance verdict , later reduced to years , for funneling 10.4 million euros in public money to the Fimi Media company . However , his sentence was annulled by Croatias Constitutional Court in 2015 . With the exception of numerous Croatian officials who were sentenced to imprisonment during the existence of the socialist Yugoslavia , he is the first Croatian head of government and highest ranking state official to be tried and sentenced to a jail term . In October 2018 , Sanader was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for war profiteering and must return $570,000 in kickbacks from Hypo Bank . In November 2020 , Sanader was sentenced to eight years in jail for his role in a retrial of the Fimi Media case . Early life . Ivo Sanader was born in Split to a poor , religious , working-class family originating from Dugobabe , a village in the Split hinterland . He was one of five children so , as his family was financially unable to support their education , his mother asked the rector of the Archbishopric Classical Gymnasium to accept Ivo as a student . At the gymnasium , Sanader distinguished himself as one of the top students , excelling in history and languages . After completing high school , Sanader spent one year in Rome studying philosophy . Following his return from Rome he met Mirjana Šarić , whom he married in 1978 . After their wedding , Ivo and Mirjana , and Ivos younger brother Miro left Split for Innsbruck , Austria . His wife studied archaeology , while Ivo studied comparative literature and Romance languages at the University of Innsbruck . During that time , Sanader worked as a correspondent for the Zagreb sport newspaper Sportske novosti . In 1982 , Sanader received his PhD degree , and returned to Croatia ( then Yugoslavia ) with his wife . He found a job in the marketing department of Dalmacijaturist ( Dalmatia Tourist ) , for a brief period , followed by a lengthy period at the publishing house Logos from 1983 , initially as a program editor . In 1988 he became a chief editor , at one time working on the magazine Mogućnosti ( Possibilities ) . His career at the publishing house was later terminated . At that time , his wife also received a notice of termination from her workplace . In 1987 , Sanader decided to return to Austria with his family , where he co-founded two businesses , one in 1989 which was liquidated by a court in 1992 , while the other existed between 1986 and 2001 . Failure of his businesses prompted Sanader to enter politics in the 1990s . Apart from his native Croatian , he is fluent in English , German , French , and Italian . Political career . Beginnings ( 1990s–2000 ) . Unlike many Croatian political figures of Sanaders generation , he was not actively involved in politics in his younger years – neither as a member of the League of Communists of Croatia ( Croatias party which formed the single bloc which governed Yugoslavia ) , nor as a dissident in exile . In October 1990 , after multi-party system had returned to Yugoslavia , he founded the Tirol branch of the Croatian Democratic Union ( HDZ ) in Austria , and established contact with Franjo Tuđman . Sanaders organizational skills , erudition , and fluency in German left a favorable impression on HDZ members with whom he collaborated in Austria . He decided to return to Split , over the objections of his wife who saw war in Croatia looming . His first public office was intendant of the Croatian National Theatre in Split . Shortly after taking the office , he was joined by his wife , who got a job in the University Library in Split . In 1992 he was elected as an HDZ deputy to the lower house of the Croatian parliament , and became Minister of Science and Technology ( 1992–1993 ) . From 1993 to 1995 and 1996 to 2000 , he was a Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs , overseeing the termination of required visas for Croatian citizens who traveled to Greece . He also used his negotiation skills to bring people to the Croatian Democratic Union from other Croatian parliamentary parties . At the end of November 1995 , he became Chief of Staff of the President of Croatias office and General Secretary of the Croatian National Security and Defense Council ( VONS ) after Hrvoje Šarinić was released from his duty . In January 1996 he became a member of the Council for Cooperation between Croatia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina . During his second term as Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs he worked to bring Croatia and Israel together . Himself , Hrvoje Šarinić and Eytan Bentsur , Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Israeli government , met in Budapest in 1997 , at which point diplomatic relations between Croatia and Israel were established . Leader of Opposition ( 2000–03 ) . In 2000 , following Tuđmans death , HDZ suffered defeat in a parliamentary election . Furthermore , their candidate Mate Granić also failed to enter the second round of the presidential election . Granić then left to form the Democratic Centre party hoping to attract moderates from the HDZ . Inner-party election within the HDZ ensued in April that year and Sanader emerged victorious as a compromise candidate . Initially , Sanader criticized the unpopular International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( ICTY ) indictments against Croatian Army generals . In 2001 , he took part in a massive rally protesting a war crimes indictment against general Mirko Norac . Sanader also criticised Ivica Račan and his cabinets stance towards the ICTY . He gradually began to distance the party and himself from the protests , softening his criticism towards the government . Sanader focused his efforts on transforming the HDZ into a modern pro-European right-of-center party . However , his course was challenged by the more conservative wing of the party led by Ivić Pašalić . The ensuing leadership struggle culminated at the 2002 party convention . Sanader , who was supported by Vladimir Šeks and Branimir Glavaš , managed to win his second mandate . Pašalić left the party to form his Croatian Bloc , but failed to draw many of his former supporters from the HDZ . Sanader was later accused by Ivan Drmić , a former member of the Croatian Democratic Union , for rigging the presidential election at the 5th convention of the Croatian Democratic Union . Spokesman for the Croatian Democratic Union Ratko Maček said such accusations belong in the anthology of political stupidity . Sanader was able to concentrate on defeating Ivica Račan and his left-of-centre coalition at the 2003 parliamentary elections . HDZ won the election , but did not win an absolute majority in Sabor . First term as Prime Minister ( 2003–07 ) . After the victory of his Croatian Democratic Union ( HDZ ) the President of the Republic named Sanader the Prime Minister-designate on 9 December 2003 . In the post-election negotiations Sanader ensured the support of ethnic minority representatives , nominally left-wing Croatian Party of Pensioners and the Independent Democratic Serb Party . When the Croatian Parliament subsequently gave its consent by 88 votes ( out of 152 ) on 23 December 2003 , Sanader was formally appointed . The Sanader governments main foreign goal was Croatias entry into the European Union and NATO . As a result of the successful implementation of the Association Agreement – signed with the European Union in 2001 – Croatia did become an official candidate for entry into the EU . Sanaders HDZ also sought to establish better relations with minority parties and to promote minority rights . Amongst other factors contributing to the positive opinion of the European Commission and the European Council regarding Croatias bid to become an EU member were Croatias cooperation with the ICTY , continued economic growth and the countrys compliance with political and economic criteria established by the 1993 Copenhagen European Council . Sanader was the last statesman to visit Pope John Paul II in Vatican City , in February 2005 , a few weeks before his death on 2 April 2005 . In October 2005 , following the formal start of EU accession negotiations , opinion polls showed Sanader to be the most popular Croatian politician . Škare Ožbolt reported that Sanader possessed a collection of wrist watches worth in excess of €150,000 which he had not declared as assets . Former Minister of Justice Vesna Škare-Ožbolt in the Sanader government was the one who reported Sanader to a resolution council for conflict of interests . As Prime Minister , Sanader had close relations with other moderate conservative politicians in Europe : including former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel , former Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber , Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel , and Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern . The cabinet saw some changes during Sanaders term , notably the departure of the foreign minister Miomir Žužul who was accused of conflict of interest . His government was challenged by the rising tide of Euroscepticism in the country . In July 2006 , Sanader was named in the Verona Affair , accused by the opposition in the Croatian parliament for fixing the sale of pharmaceutical company Pliva to Barr Pharmaceuticals from the US . The accusations were denied and never proved . Nacional , an independent political weekly , reported Sanader was a part of two bankrupt businesses in Austria , and received bribes in 1995 and 1996 from a tycoon amounting to 800,000 DEM . Second term as Prime Minister ( 2007–09 ) . After the closely contested 2007 parliamentary election , and the first ever situation of ambiguity on who gets the mandate to form a government , Sanader emerged as the winner when President Stjepan Mesić gave him his second mandate , though this time in a coalition with HSS and HSLS . Owing in part to the global recession that set in during Sanaders term , Croatias economic growth stalled and foreign direct investments slowed down . While displaying symptoms of economic decline shared by larger nations , Croatias decline during Sanaders term was amplified in comparison with the fortunes of Serbia and next door Montenegro – who gained greater investments due to major reforms . Under Sanader , judicial reforms in Croatia stopped and the land registry issue was not resolved . Over 1.3 million court cases ( in a country of 4.1 million people ) were yet to be resolved in 2009 . Croatia was expected to complete negotiations with the EU in 2009 . However , the negotiations were stalled for 10 months due to Slovenias blockade of Croatias EU accession in December 2008 . On 1 July 2009 , Sanader announced his resignation as the Prime Minister and Leader of the HDZ , as well as his complete withdrawal from all active politics , adding that he does not intend to return . At his press conference in Zagreb , Sanader remarked : There is always a time in life for a new beginning . Such a moment has come and now it is time for others to take over . According to BBC News , the announcement came as a surprise , as Croatian media had quite recently named Sanader as a potential candidate for the 2010 presidential election . He announced that his prime minister-designate would be deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor . The Croatian Parliament accepted his resignation on 2 July 2009 and informed the President . Sanader was elected Honorary President of the HDZ for life . Departure and return to politics ( 2009–10 ) . At the September 2009 Global Creative Economic Summit , Sanader discussed Croatias shift from a heavily controlled economy to a bustling knowledge-based economy . According to Sanader , fostering the competitiveness in everyday life played an important role in this process . On 3 January 2010 , contrary to his earlier statements ( 1 July 2009 ) , Sanader announced he would be returning to a more active role in politics , stating that his decision to withdraw was a mistake , and that the HDZ is a winning party and not a party that wins 12% of the vote , a remark made in connection with the first round of the presidential election held one week before . He was supported by a dozen HDZ MPs , including Luka Bebić , but none of the members of the Government . Several of those MPs later disclaimed any association with Sanader and claimed they were misled . On 4 January 2010 , following an entire day of meetings of HDZ leadership , Ivo Sanader was expelled from the Croatian Democratic Union . Of 22 members of the party presidency , 16 voted for expulsion , three were against ( Luka Bebić , Mario Zubović and Damir Polančec ) and two abstained ( Bianca Matković and Petar Selem ) . Sanader himself was not present at the meeting . In October 2010 , Sanader reactivated his parliamentary seat and regained parliamentary immunity . Arrest in Austria . On 9 December 2010 , he was spotted crossing the border into Slovenia , driven by his younger daughter Bruna shortly before the Croatian parliament voted to remove his immunity from prosecution by the Croatian Bureau for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime ( USKOK ) . The next day the Croatian police issued an arrest warrant and applied to Interpol requesting his arrest to face charges of corruption . He was arrested near Salzburg , Austria on 10 December 2010 . Croatian authorities froze his assets and bank accounts , and formally applied for extradition on 13 December . Austrian authorities , including a Carinthian parliamentary committee inquiring into the more recent Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International scandal , have questioned Sanader while in custody , while USKOK expanded its investigation of Sanader to include alleged bribes by the Hypo Bank in the 1990s . Sanader is alleged to have received nearly $695,000 ( £432,000 ) for arranging a loan from the Austrian Hypo Bank in 1995 , launching accusations of war profiteering . and of receiving 10 million euros in bribes from the CEO of the Hungarian oil company MOL , Zsolt Hernádi , to secure MOL a dominant position in the Croatian oil company INA . Extradition and trials ( 2011–present ) . Sanader was extradited by Austria on 18 July 2011 . He was transferred to Remetinec prison in Zagreb . At his first court hearing on 28 October , he complained of heart problems , and he stated that he did not even know he was being taken to court . After hearing this , the judge decided to reschedule , and Sanader was taken to the hospital . His rescheduled court hearing took place in December 2011 and he was released on bail of $2.2 million on 16 December 2011 . In January 2012 , it was announced that Sanader was facing a new set of corruption charges . USKOK included Sanader in its investigation into Croatias state-owned electric company HEPs financial irregularities , including losses of $100 million , based on a witness statement that Sanader accepted a bribe to ensure lower electricity prices . In May 2012 , it was announced that Sanader could be indicted again on corruption offences . It was alleged that he could be charged for his involvement in arranging the sale of electricity to Croatian petrochemical company Dioki Group at prices below market , which damaged the state electricity company HEP by several million Kunas . The former CEO and owner of Dioki , Ivan Mravak and Robert Jezic could also face charges . In September 2012 , A fifth indictment was filed against Ivo Sanader for damaging the state budget by 26 million kuna ( 3.6 million euro ) . Prosecutors claimed that the damage was done by selling a building built by Fiolics firm to the Ministry of Regional Development for more than twice the price that the building was actually worth . According to calculations of Croatian news site Politika Plus from 2012 , total damage done to the budget due to corruption scandals involving Sanader counts at least 207,2 million kuna . On 20 November 2012 Sanader was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a first-degree verdict . He was the highest official in Croatia to be convicted of corruption . Sanader denied wrongdoing and stated that his trial was politically motivated . The judge , Ivan Turudić , said that Sanader had disgraced Croatia , adding that he had used his office for his own personal enrichment and not for the common good . Sanader was transferred from the court to the Remetinec prison . In June 2014 the Supreme Court of Croatia confirmed the 2012 verdict , but reduced Sanaders prison sentence to years . On that occasion , president Ivo Josipović described Sanaders involvement in MOLs acquisition of INA as high treason . In 2015 , the verdict was quashed by the Constitutional Court based on procedural errors made during the trial . He was released after spending nearly 5 years both in custody and prison . He is set to stand a retrial . In 2017 , he was sentenced to in another case , yet to be confirmed by the upper courts . In 2020 , he was convicted to 8 years in prison as the result of retrial . As of 2021 , he is serving his sentence at Remetinec prison . Honors . Revoked . On 15 July 2014 President Ivo Josipović revoked all Sanaders national decorations following the final judgment by the Supreme Court by which he was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 8 years and 6 months due to his corruption while he served as Prime Minister . - Order of Duke Trpimir - Grand Order of Queen Jelena - Order of the Croatian Trefoil - Homelands Gratitude Medal - Order of Ante Starčević - Order of Danica Hrvatska with the face of Marko Marulić