Nenad Porges is a Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n politician, businessman, entrepreneur and former Minister of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship

Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship (Croatia)

The Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Croatia is the ministry in the Government of Croatia which is in charge of the development of the economy, investments and labour regulation.-List of ministers:-Origins:...

.

Background and education

Porges

Porges

Porges is a surname which may refer to:* Gabriel Porges** Moses Porges, Moses Porges von Portheim , a Czech-Austrian industrialist, vice-burgomaster of Smichow...

 was born in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

 to a Jew

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

ish family who came to Zagreb from Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 and Bratislava

Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...

. His paternal grandparents were killed during the Holocaust

The Holocaust

The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...

 by the SS Prinz Eugen Division

7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen

The 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen. was formed on March 1942 from Volksdeutsche volunteers from Vojvodina, Croatia, Hungary and Romania, it was initially called the SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen....

, while his father's life was spared due to a fact that he was an essential worker for the Third Reich

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

. Porges received his degrees from the University of Zagreb

University of Zagreb

The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...

 (a bachelors degree in economics and a masters degree in marketing) and was a lecturer in marketing and management in postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Zagreb. He is a member of the Jewish community in Zagreb although not active one.

Political and business career

Porges was a strong advocate of Croatian independence. He directed a letter to the World Jewish Congress

World Jewish Congress

The World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...

 and all affiliated Jewish organizations and institutions with the title; "Appeal to our Jewish brothers and sisters". In the letter he appealed for the recognition of Croatia and support in the Croatian War for Independence

Croatian War of Independence

The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...

 which was fought "against a brutal military force led by the Yugoslav Army

Yugoslav People's Army

The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...

". He served as adviser to the Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 for two years. Prior to his post as adviser to the Prime Minister, Porges served as Deputy Minister of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship. In 1997 he became the Minister of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship in the Croatian Government. He has also worked on a number of marketing research projects and published numerous papers.