predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place party office primeminister birth_date term_start article_title term_end name alma_mater
office established andrija hebrang ivica pančić andrija hebrang 15 september 2008 neum , kingdom of yugoslavia zagreb , croatia croatian democratic union minister of veterans ' affairs minister of health zlatko nikica valentić -lrb- 1993 -rrb- mateša hrvoje Šarinić -lrb- 1992 -- 1993 -rrb- 2 july 1938 19 december 1997 12 august 1992 juraj njavro
 27 january 2000 13 october 1993 juraj njavro university of zagreb -lrb- school of medicine -rrb-
juraj njavro

juraj njavro -lrb- 2 july 1938 -- 15 september 2008 -rrb- was a croatian medical doctor and politician .
njavro was born in cerovica , near neum in the kingdom of yugoslavia -lrb- today part of bosnia and herzegovina -rrb- .
he attended elementary school here and gymnasium in dubrovnik , croatia .
he served as a surgeon vukovar 's hospital during the city 's intense siege within the croatian war of independence .
he continued to work in the hospital right up until the fall of the city to serb forces .
njavro was subsequently imprisoned and taken to the sremska mitrovica camp in serbia .
in late 1991 njavro was released as part of a prisoner exchange .
he took part in croatia 's first post-independence parliamentary elections in 1992 and was elected as a member of the croatian democratic union .
from august 12 , 1992 to october 12 , 1993 he served as croatia 's minister of health .
he served as a minister without portfolio from october 12 , 1993 to november 7 , 1995 , won reelection in 1995 , and served again without portfolio from november 13 , 1996 to december 19 , 1997 .
from december 19 , 1997 to january 27 , 2000 he served as minister of defenders from the homeland war .
he was reelected again in 2000 and retired in 2003 .
njavro wrote a book about his internment during the war entitled `` glava dolje , ruke na leđa '' .
after his retirement he served as the president of the association of croatian volunteer doctors 1990-1991 .
he died on september 15 , 2008 in zagreb and was buried in the city 's mirogoj cemetery .
