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Croatia: Croatia Government Profile 2012

2012/03/06

Croatia Government Profile 2012

Several amendments have been made to the Constitution since it was adopted. It guarantees freedom of speech, assembly, press, and religion and also gives the right to form political parties and the right of minority groups to cultural independence.

A president is elected to a five-year term by the people. The laws of the country are framed by a 152-member parliament, who is elected by the people to four-year terms. The parliament is headed by a prime minister.

The Social Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party (formerly the Communist Party), and the Croatian Democratic Union are the leading political parties in Croatia. The Croatian Democratic Party and the Party of Rights are the other parties.

The highest court in Croatia is the Supreme Court. The members of this court are appointed to life terms by a special committee chosen by the parliament. Croatia also has a constitutional court, whose 11 judges are named by the parliament to eight-year terms.

Country name

Conventional long form:

controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits; most Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of Croatia - some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks

Conventional short form:

Croatia

Local long form:

Republika Hrvatska

Local short form:

Hrvatska

Government type:

presidential/parliamentary democracy

Capital

Name:

Zagreb

Geographic coordinates:

45 48 N, 16 00 E

Time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Daylight saving time:

: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:

20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular) and 1 city* (grad - singular); Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska, Brodsko-Posavska, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska (Dubrovnik-Neretva), Istarska (Istria), Karlovacka, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka, Krapinsko-Zagorska, Licko-Senjska (Lika-Senj), Medimurska, Osjecko-Baranjska, Pozesko-Slavonska (Pozega-Slavonia), Primorsko-Goranska, Sibensko-Kninska, Sisacko-Moslavacka, Splitsko-Dalmatinska (Split-Dalmatia), Varazdinska, Viroviticko-Podravska, Vukovarsko-Srijemska, Zadarska, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka

Independence:

25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 8 October (1991); note - 25 June 1991 was the day the Croatian parliament voted for independence; following a three-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, Parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia

Constitution:

adopted on 22 December 1990; revised 2000, 2001

Legal system:

based on Austro-Hungarian law system with Communist law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal

Executive branch

Chief of state:

President Ivo JOSIPOVIC (since 18 February 2010)

head of government:

Prime Minister Jadranka KOSOR (since 6 July 2009); Deputy Prime Ministers Bozidar PANKRETIC (since 6 July 2009), Darko MILINOVIC (since 13 November 2009), Ivan SUKER (since 13 November 2009), Djurdja ADLESIC (since 12 January 2008), Slobodan UZELAC (since 12 January 2008)

Cabinet:

Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the parliamentary assembly

Elections:

president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 10 January 2010 (next to be held in December 2015); the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president and then approved by the assembly

Election results:

Ivo JOSIPOVIC elected president; percent of vote in the second round - Ivo JOSIPOVIC 60%, Milan BANDIC 40%

Legislative branch:

unicameral Assembly or Sabor (153 seats; members elected from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts are appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the Assembly

Political parties and leaders :

Croatian Democratic Congress of Slavonia and Baranja or HDSSB [Vladimir SISLJAGIC]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Jadranka KOSOR]; Croatian Party of the Right or HSP [Anto DJAPIC]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Josip FRISCIC]; Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU [Silvano HRELJA]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Radimir CACIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Darinko KOSOR]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Zoran MILANOVIC]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

other: human rights groups

International organization participation:

ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Flag description:

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue - the Pan-Slavic colors - superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms; the coat of arms consists of one main shield (a checkerboard of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields) surmounted by five smaller shields that form a crown over the main shield; the five small shields represent five historic regions, they are (from left to right): Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia

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