Stjepan Mesić
Encyclopedia
Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić is a Croatian politician and former President of Croatia
. Before his ten-year presidential term between 2000 and 2010 he held the posts of Speaker of the Croatian Parliament (1992–1994), Prime Minister of Croatia (1990), the last President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1991), Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement
(1991), a judge
in Našice
and mayor of his home town of Orahovica
.
Mesić was a deputy in the Croatian Parliament in the 1960s, and was then absent from politics until 1990 when he joined the Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ), and was named Prime Minister after HDZ won the elections. He was appointed to serve as SR Croatia's member of the Yugoslav Federal Presidency
where he served first as Vice President and then in 1991 as the last President of Yugoslavia before Yugoslavia dissolved.
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Mesić served as Speaker of the Croatian Parliament from 1992 to 1994, when he left HDZ. With several other members of parliament, he formed a new party called Croatian Independent Democrats
(HND). In 1997 the majority of HND members, including Mesić, merged into the Croatian People's Party (HNS).
After Franjo Tuđman had died in December 1999 Mesić won the elections to become the next President of Croatia in February 2000. He was re-elected in January 2005 for a second four-year term. Mesić had always topped the polls for the most popular politician in Croatia during his two terms.
.
His father joined the Yugoslav Partisans in 1941. The Mesić family spent most of the Second World War in refuges in Mount Papuk
and Orahovica when it was occasionally liberated. In 1945, the family took refuge from the final fighting of the war in Hungary, along with 10,000 other refugees, and subsequently settled in Našice
, where Josip Mesić became the chairman of the District council. The family soon moved to Osijek, where Stipe graduated from 4-year elementary school and finished two years of 8-year gymnasium
. In 1949, his father was reassigned back to Orahovica, and Stipe continued his education at the gymnasium in Požega
. He graduated in 1955 and, as an exemplary student, was admitted to the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
. The same year on 17 March, his father died of cancer.
He continued his studies at the Law Faculty at the University of Zagreb
, where he graduated in 1961. Also in 1961, Mesić married Milka Dudundić, of Ukrainian
and Serbian
ethnic origin from Hrvatska Kostajnica
, with whom he has two daughters. After graduation, he worked as an intern at the municipal court in Orahovica and the public attorney's office at Našice
. He served his compulsory military service in Bileća
and Niš
, becoming a reserve officer.
to work as a manager for the company "Univerzal".
In 1966, he ran as an independent candidate in the election for his municipal council, and defeated two other candidates, one from the Communist Party and the other from the Socialist Union of Working People. In 1967, he became the mayor of Orahovica and a member of the Parliament of SR Croatia.
As mayor, Mesić attempted the building of a private factory in the town, the first private factory in Yugoslavia. However, this was personally denounced by Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito
as an attempt to silently introduce capitalism
, which was illegal according to the then-current constitution.
movement which called for Croatian equality within the Yugoslav Federation on economic, political and cultural levels. The government indicted him for "acts of enemy propaganda". The initial trial lasted three days in which 55 witnesses testified, only five against him, but he was sentenced to 20 years in jail on charges that he was a member of a Croatian terrorist group. He appealed and the trial was prolonged, but eventually in 1975 he was incarcerated for one year, and served his sentence at the Stara Gradiška
prison.
(HDZ) in the first multi-party elections in Croatia
after World War II
. He became the general secretary of HDZ and later the Prime Minister of Croatia and served from May until August 1990. He then resigned to take a post in the Yugoslav Federal Presidency, where he served first as Vice-President.
Presidents rotated annually according to republic-province key automatically. When Mesić's turn came to automatically become the President on May 15, 1991, the Serbian incumbent Member Borisav Jović demanded, against all constitutional rules, that an election be held. The members from Serbia and its provinces voted against, and the member from Montenegro abstained, leaving Mesić one vote short of majority. Under pressure from the international community after the Ten-Day War
in Slovenia, Mesić was eventually appointed.
When Croatia
declared its complete independence, he returned to Croatia
and resigned from the Presidency. He led a relief convoy of 40 fishing and tour boats to Dubrovnik in November 1991 aboard the ferryboat Slavija. In 1992, he was elected to Parliament and became Speaker of Parliament.
In 1994, Mesić left the HDZ
to form a new party, the Croatian Independent Democrats (Hrvatski Nezavisni Demokrati, HND). Mesić stated that this decision was motivated by his disagreement with Croatia's policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina
at the time, specifically Franjo Tuđman's alleged agreement with Slobodan Milošević
in the Karađorđevo agreement
to carve up Bosnia and Herzegovina
between Croatia and Serbia and the subsequent launch of the Croat-Bosniak war
. He also criticized the failed policies of privatization during the war and unresolved cases of war profiteering. However Mesić left HDZ some 18 months after the Croat-Bosniak war in Bosnia had started. His departure matches the time of his (and Josip Manolić
's) conflict with Gojko Šušak
's faction within HDZ. Moreover, he had visited Široki Brijeg
in 1992 in order to dismiss Stjepan Kljujić and install Mate Boban
as the president of HDZ BiH, the party's branch in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mesić later described Boban as a radical nationalist and even "crazy".
In 1997 he and the majority of his party merged into the liberal Croatian People's Party (HNS), where Mesić instantly became an executive vice-president. By this point, Mesić had during his career served as a key figure in left-wing, right-wing and liberal political parties.
He was elected President of the Republic of Croatia in the 2000 election
after winning the first round and defeating Dražen Budiša
of HSLS
in the second round. Mesić ran as the joint candidate of the HNS, HSS
, LS
and IDS. He received 41% of the vote in the first round and 56% in the second round. After becoming president, he stepped down from membership in the HNS.
He heavily criticized former President Franjo Tuđman's policies as nationalistic and authoritarian, lacking a free media and employing bad economics, while Mesić favored a more liberal approach to opening the Croatian economy to foreign investment.
As President, in September 2000 he retired seven Croatian active generals who had written two open letters to the public
arguing that the current Government administration "is campaigning to criminalize Homeland War and that the Government is accusing and neglecting the Croatian Army". Mesić held that active duty officers could not write public political letters without approval of their Commander-in-Chief
. Opposition parties condemned the President's decision as being a dangerous decision that could harm Croatian national security. Mesić later retired four more generals for similar reasons.
President Mesić is active in foreign policy, promoting Croatia's ambition to become a member of the European Union
and NATO. He also initiated mutual apologies for possible war crimes with the President of Serbia and Montenegro
. After Constitutional amendments in September 2000, he was deprived of most of his roles in domestic policy-making, which instead passed wholly to the Croatian Government and its Premier.
Mesić testified at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
that implicated the Croatian army in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina
. The right-wing parts of the Croatian public took issue with this, saying that his testimony contained untrue statements and questioned his motives (he was often branded "traitor"), and noting that much of his testimony occurred before his presidency, as an opposition politician. His denunciation of the assassination of Serbia
n Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic on 12 March 2003 marked a notable thawing of relations with Serbia, and he attended his funeral in Belgradehttp://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20030313/local/serbian-pm-assassinated.
He opposed the U.S.
's military campaign against Iraq
and Saddam Hussein
's regime without United Nations
approval or mandate. Immediately following the invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003, Mesić deplored that by attacking Iraq, the Bush administration had marginalized UN, induced divisions in EU, damaged relationships with traditional allies, disturbed the foundations of international order and incited a crisis, which could spill over borders of Iraq.
Mesić improved Croatian foreign relations with Libya
by exchanging visits with the Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
, contrary to the wishes of U.S. and British diplomacy.
The first of Mesić's mandate was not marked with historically crucial events like the Tuđman presidency had been, Crotia's public political orientation shifted away from the HDZ, mostly to the benefit of leftist parties.
When the Government changed hands in late 2003, problems were expected between the leftist President and a Government with rightist members, but Mesić handled the situation gracefully and there were few notable incidents in this regard.
He served his first 5-year term until February 2005. In the 2005 election
, Mesić was a candidate supported by eight political parties and won nearly half of the vote, but was denied the absolute majority by a few percent. Mesić faced off with Jadranka Kosor
in the run-off election and won. He served his second 5-year term until 2010 when he was superseded by Ivo Josipović
.
In December 2006, a controversy arose when a video was published showing Mesić during a speech in Australia in the early 1990s, where he said that the Croats "won a victory on April 10th" (when the fascist aligned Independent State of Croatia
was formed) "as well as in 1945" (when the communist anti-fascists prevailed and the Socialist Republic of Croatia was formed), as well as that Croatia needed to apologize to no one for the Jasenovac concentration camp
(i.e. the WWII Holocaust against Serbs and Jews).
Mesić sparked controversy on the issue of the Independent State of Croatia on another occasion during a speech in which he claimed that not all Croats fighting for the Independent State of Croatia were Ustashe supporters and claimed that most were fighting legitimately for Croatian independence.
On 1 March 2006 the Civic Assembly of Podgorica
, Montenegro
's capital, decided to declare Mesić an honorary citizen. The move was heavily criticized and caused a significant controversy within Montenegro.
On 21 December 2008, President Mesić compared Dodik
's policies to those of the late Serbian President Slobodan Milošević
at the beginning of the 1990s. "Just as the world failed to recognize Milošević's policy then, it does not recognize Dodik's policy today," he said. Explaining where such a policy could be headed, he added: "If Dodik manages to merge Republika Srpska
with Serbia
, all Croats
concentrated in Herzegovina
will want to join Croatia
in the same manner, leaving a rump Bosniak
country, surrounded by enemies. If this were to occur, that small country would become the refuge of all the world's terrorists."
Mesić has been accused by the Croatian Helsinki Committee
of obstructing the investigation of war crimes committed by the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II
. The Committee also accused Mesić of abusing the commemorations at the Jasenovac concentration camp for political purposes.
In 2009, he publicly proposed that all crucifixes be removed from Croatian state offices, provoking a negative reaction from the Catholic Church in Croatia.
, after Jurasinović filed charges for Marin Tomulić against Marko Nikolić and others for attempted murder. Jurasinović subsequently launched a civil suit against Mesić which found the president guilty of using his position to attempt to discredit and slander him. Mesić was ordered to compensate Jurasinović 70,000 kuna.
In April, 2008 Josip Kokić petitioned the Croatian Constitutional Court
to remove the president's legal immunity, so that he could sue him. The court decided against removing the immunity. Ivan Jurasinović launched another appeal to remove the immunity in November, 2008.
In 2008, former Constitutional Court judge Vice Vukojević launched a case against Mesić, alleging that he embezzled money along with Vladimir Sokolić under the guise of purchasing vehicles for the Croatian Army in 1993.
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President of Croatia
The President of Croatia , officially styled the President of the Republic represents the Republic of Croatia in the country and abroad as the head of state, maintains the regular and coordinated operation and stability of the national government system, and safeguards the independence and...
. Before his ten-year presidential term between 2000 and 2010 he held the posts of Speaker of the Croatian Parliament (1992–1994), Prime Minister of Croatia (1990), the last President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1991), Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
(1991), a judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
in Našice
Našice
Našice is a town in the Osijek-Baranja county of Croatia, population 7,894 , total municipality population 16,228 . It is located on the northern slopes of Krndija Mountain in eastern Slavonia, 51 km southwest of Osijek; elevation 157 m....
and mayor of his home town of Orahovica
Orahovica
Orahovica is a town in Slavonia, Croatia. It is situated on the slopes of the mountain Papuk and positioned on the state road D2 Varaždin-Koprivnica-Našice-Osijek.-Economy:...
.
Mesić was a deputy in the Croatian Parliament in the 1960s, and was then absent from politics until 1990 when he joined the Croatian Democratic Union
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
(HDZ), and was named Prime Minister after HDZ won the elections. He was appointed to serve as SR Croatia's member of the Yugoslav Federal Presidency
Presidency of the SFRY
Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a collective head of state of the Yugoslav federation. It was established in 1970 according to constitutional amendments and reorganized in 1974 by the new constitution. In the period from 1970 to 1974, the Presidency had 23 members -...
where he served first as Vice President and then in 1991 as the last President of Yugoslavia before Yugoslavia dissolved.
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Mesić served as Speaker of the Croatian Parliament from 1992 to 1994, when he left HDZ. With several other members of parliament, he formed a new party called Croatian Independent Democrats
Croatian Independent Democrats
Croatian Independent Democrats was a political party in Croatia.-History:Its founders were members of moderate faction within Croatian Democratic Union...
(HND). In 1997 the majority of HND members, including Mesić, merged into the Croatian People's Party (HNS).
After Franjo Tuđman had died in December 1999 Mesić won the elections to become the next President of Croatia in February 2000. He was re-elected in January 2005 for a second four-year term. Mesić had always topped the polls for the most popular politician in Croatia during his two terms.
Early life
He was baptized by his stepmother in the 16th-century Serbian Orthodox Orahovica MonasteryOrahovica Monastery
The Orahovica Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery in Orahovica, Croatia. It is mentioned in 1583 when it was a seat of the Požega metropolitanate and an important culuro-religious center, located in the then Virovitica County. It is thought to have been built before the end of the 15th...
.
His father joined the Yugoslav Partisans in 1941. The Mesić family spent most of the Second World War in refuges in Mount Papuk
Papuk
Papuk is the largest mountain in the Slavonia region in eastern Croatia, near the city of Požega. It extends between Bilogora to the northwest, Krndija to the east, and Ravna gora and Psunj to the southwest....
and Orahovica when it was occasionally liberated. In 1945, the family took refuge from the final fighting of the war in Hungary, along with 10,000 other refugees, and subsequently settled in Našice
Našice
Našice is a town in the Osijek-Baranja county of Croatia, population 7,894 , total municipality population 16,228 . It is located on the northern slopes of Krndija Mountain in eastern Slavonia, 51 km southwest of Osijek; elevation 157 m....
, where Josip Mesić became the chairman of the District council. The family soon moved to Osijek, where Stipe graduated from 4-year elementary school and finished two years of 8-year gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
. In 1949, his father was reassigned back to Orahovica, and Stipe continued his education at the gymnasium in Požega
Požega, Croatia
Požega is a city in western Slavonia, eastern Croatia, with a total population of 26,403 . It is the administrative center of the Požega-Slavonia County.-Geography:...
. He graduated in 1955 and, as an exemplary student, was admitted to the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia
League of Communists of Yugoslavia , before 1952 the Communist Party of Yugoslavia League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunista Jugoslavije/Савез комуниста Југославије, Slovene: Zveza komunistov Jugoslavije, Macedonian: Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na...
. The same year on 17 March, his father died of cancer.
He continued his studies at the Law Faculty at 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...
, where he graduated in 1961. Also in 1961, Mesić married Milka Dudundić, of Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
and Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
ethnic origin from Hrvatska Kostajnica
Hrvatska Kostajnica
Hrvatska Kostajnica, often just Kostajnica, is a small town in central Croatia. It is located on the Una river in the Sisak-Moslavina county, south of Petrinja and Sisak and across the river from Bosanska Kostajnica in Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...
, with whom he has two daughters. After graduation, he worked as an intern at the municipal court in Orahovica and the public attorney's office at Našice
Našice
Našice is a town in the Osijek-Baranja county of Croatia, population 7,894 , total municipality population 16,228 . It is located on the northern slopes of Krndija Mountain in eastern Slavonia, 51 km southwest of Osijek; elevation 157 m....
. He served his compulsory military service in Bileća
Bileca
Bileća is a town and municipality in the southeast of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the entity of Republika Srpska. It is in eastern Herzegovina near the border with Montenegro, north of Trebinje and south of Gacko...
and Niš
Niš
Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...
, becoming a reserve officer.
Early career
After passing the judicial examination, he was appointed a municipal judge, but soon became embroiled in a scandal when he publicly denounced local politicians for using official vehicles for private purposes. He was nearly expelled from the party over the incident and in 1964 he moved to ZagrebZagreb
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 work as a manager for the company "Univerzal".
In 1966, he ran as an independent candidate in the election for his municipal council, and defeated two other candidates, one from the Communist Party and the other from the Socialist Union of Working People. In 1967, he became the mayor of Orahovica and a member of the Parliament of SR Croatia.
As mayor, Mesić attempted the building of a private factory in the town, the first private factory in Yugoslavia. However, this was personally denounced by Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
as an attempt to silently introduce capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, which was illegal according to the then-current constitution.
Croatian spring
In 1967, when a group of Croatian intellectuals published the landmark "Declaration on the Status and Name of the Croatian Literary Language" Mesić publicly denounced it as a diversionary attack against the very foundations of Yugoslavia and called for its authors to be prosecuted by law. However, in the 1970s Mesić supported the nationalist Croatian SpringCroatian Spring
The Croatian Spring was a political movement from the early 1970s that called for greater rights for Croatia which was then part of Yugoslavia as well as democratic and economic reforms.-History:...
movement which called for Croatian equality within the Yugoslav Federation on economic, political and cultural levels. The government indicted him for "acts of enemy propaganda". The initial trial lasted three days in which 55 witnesses testified, only five against him, but he was sentenced to 20 years in jail on charges that he was a member of a Croatian terrorist group. He appealed and the trial was prolonged, but eventually in 1975 he was incarcerated for one year, and served his sentence at the Stara Gradiška
Stara Gradiška
Stara Gradiška is a village and a municipality in the Brod-Posavina county of Croatia. It has 542 residents, while the municipality has 1,717 , in six other smaller villages...
prison.
Return to politics
He was elected again in 1990 as a candidate of the Croatian Democratic UnionCroatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
(HDZ) in the first multi-party elections in 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 ...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He became the general secretary of HDZ and later the Prime Minister of Croatia and served from May until August 1990. He then resigned to take a post in the Yugoslav Federal Presidency, where he served first as Vice-President.
Presidents rotated annually according to republic-province key automatically. When Mesić's turn came to automatically become the President on May 15, 1991, the Serbian incumbent Member Borisav Jović demanded, against all constitutional rules, that an election be held. The members from Serbia and its provinces voted against, and the member from Montenegro abstained, leaving Mesić one vote short of majority. Under pressure from the international community after the Ten-Day War
Ten-Day War
The Ten-Day War or the Slovenian Independence War was a military conflict between the Slovenian Territorial Defence and the Yugoslav People's Army in 1991 following Slovenia's declaration of independence.-Background:...
in Slovenia, Mesić was eventually appointed.
When 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 ...
declared its complete independence, he returned to 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 ...
and resigned from the Presidency. He led a relief convoy of 40 fishing and tour boats to Dubrovnik in November 1991 aboard the ferryboat Slavija. In 1992, he was elected to Parliament and became Speaker of Parliament.
In 1994, Mesić left the HDZ
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union is the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is the biggest and strongest individual Croatian party since independence of Croatia. The Christian democratic HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in partial coalition, from 2003...
to form a new party, the Croatian Independent Democrats (Hrvatski Nezavisni Demokrati, HND). Mesić stated that this decision was motivated by his disagreement with Croatia's policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
at the time, specifically Franjo Tuđman's alleged agreement with Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
in the Karađorđevo agreement
Karađorđevo agreement
In 1991, Croatian president Franjo Tuđman and Serbian president Slobodan Milošević had a series of discussions which became known as the Karađorđevo agreement or, less commonly, the Karađorđevo meeting. These discussions commenced as early as March, 1991...
to carve up Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
between Croatia and Serbia and the subsequent launch of the Croat-Bosniak war
Croat-Bosniak war
The Croat–Bosniak War was a conflict between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the self-proclaimed Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia supported by the Republic of Croatia, that lasted from June 19, 1992 – February 23, 1994...
. He also criticized the failed policies of privatization during the war and unresolved cases of war profiteering. However Mesić left HDZ some 18 months after the Croat-Bosniak war in Bosnia had started. His departure matches the time of his (and Josip Manolić
Josip Manolic
Josip Manolić is a Croatian politician who was one of the most important public figures in 1990s Croatia. He was prime minister of the Republic of Croatia from August 24, 1990 to July 17, 1991.-Background and political career:...
's) conflict with Gojko Šušak
Gojko Šušak
Gojko Šušak was the Croatian Minister of Defence from 1991 to 1998. A Bosnian Croat emigreé to Canada, he entered the political life of Croat diaspora in North America, subsequently becoming a close friend and associate to Franjo Tuđman, the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union, a nationalistic...
's faction within HDZ. Moreover, he had visited Široki Brijeg
Široki Brijeg
-Name:The name of the city means "the wide hill" in Croatian . The city is also sometime referred to as "Široki Brig" and among the inhabitants of Herzegovina simply as "Široki" . Between 1945 and 1990, the name was officially Lištica, after the river that flows through it.-Geography:The river...
in 1992 in order to dismiss Stjepan Kljujić and install Mate Boban
Mate Boban
Mate Boban was a Bosnian Croat politician and the only president of the short lived and self proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia that existed between 1991−1994 during the Bosnian war.-Pre-war life:...
as the president of HDZ BiH, the party's branch in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mesić later described Boban as a radical nationalist and even "crazy".
In 1997 he and the majority of his party merged into the liberal Croatian People's Party (HNS), where Mesić instantly became an executive vice-president. By this point, Mesić had during his career served as a key figure in left-wing, right-wing and liberal political parties.
Presidency of Croatia
Croatian presidential election, 2000
Presidential elections were held in Croatia on 24 January 2000. As no candidate passed the 50% threshold, a secound round was held on 7 February, the first time a second round had been required in the country's history. The result was a victory for Stjepan Mesić of the Croatian People's Party, who...
after winning the first round and defeating Dražen Budiša
Dražen Budiša
Dražen Budiša is a Croatian politician who used to be leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate.-During Yugoslavia:...
of HSLS
Croatian Social Liberal Party
Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS is a conservative liberal political party in Croatia. The party is a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Its current president is Darinko Kosor, elected to that post in November 2009.-Chronology:The HSLS was...
in the second round. Mesić ran as the joint candidate of the HNS, HSS
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...
, LS
Liberal Party (Croatia)
Liberal Party was a Croatian political party active between January 1998 and April 2006. During its existence the party ran in two general elections and in each election won two seats in the 151-seat Sabor. LS was a member of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party...
and IDS. He received 41% of the vote in the first round and 56% in the second round. After becoming president, he stepped down from membership in the HNS.
He heavily criticized former President Franjo Tuđman's policies as nationalistic and authoritarian, lacking a free media and employing bad economics, while Mesić favored a more liberal approach to opening the Croatian economy to foreign investment.
As President, in September 2000 he retired seven Croatian active generals who had written two open letters to the public
Twelve Generals' Letter
The Twelve Generals' Letter was an open letter, signed by twelve generals of the Croatian Armed Forces, that criticized the government, politicians and media for perceived criminalization of the Croatian War of Independence and asserted that war veterans had suffered undignified treatment...
arguing that the current Government administration "is campaigning to criminalize Homeland War and that the Government is accusing and neglecting the Croatian Army". Mesić held that active duty officers could not write public political letters without approval of their Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
. Opposition parties condemned the President's decision as being a dangerous decision that could harm Croatian national security. Mesić later retired four more generals for similar reasons.
President Mesić is active in foreign policy, promoting Croatia's ambition to become a member of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and NATO. He also initiated mutual apologies for possible war crimes with the President of Serbia and Montenegro
President of Serbia and Montenegro
The President of Serbia and Montenegro was the head of state of Serbia and Montenegro. From its establishment in 1992 until 2003, when the country was reconstituted as a conferederacy via constitutional reform, the head of state was known as the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
. After Constitutional amendments in September 2000, he was deprived of most of his roles in domestic policy-making, which instead passed wholly to the Croatian Government and its Premier.
Mesić testified at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
that implicated the Croatian army in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. The right-wing parts of the Croatian public took issue with this, saying that his testimony contained untrue statements and questioned his motives (he was often branded "traitor"), and noting that much of his testimony occurred before his presidency, as an opposition politician. His denunciation of the assassination of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic on 12 March 2003 marked a notable thawing of relations with Serbia, and he attended his funeral in Belgradehttp://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20030313/local/serbian-pm-assassinated.
He opposed the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
's military campaign against Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's regime without United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
approval or mandate. Immediately following the invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003, Mesić deplored that by attacking Iraq, the Bush administration had marginalized UN, induced divisions in EU, damaged relationships with traditional allies, disturbed the foundations of international order and incited a crisis, which could spill over borders of Iraq.
Mesić improved Croatian foreign relations with Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
by exchanging visits with the Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, contrary to the wishes of U.S. and British diplomacy.
The first of Mesić's mandate was not marked with historically crucial events like the Tuđman presidency had been, Crotia's public political orientation shifted away from the HDZ, mostly to the benefit of leftist parties.
When the Government changed hands in late 2003, problems were expected between the leftist President and a Government with rightist members, but Mesić handled the situation gracefully and there were few notable incidents in this regard.
He served his first 5-year term until February 2005. In the 2005 election
Croatian presidential election, 2005
The fourth presidential elections in Croatia took place in two rounds in January 2005.-Background:The State Elections Committee published a list of candidates on 15 December 2004. President Stjepan Mesić stood for re-election, and the governing HDZ nominated cabinet minister Jadranka Kosor...
, Mesić was a candidate supported by eight political parties and won nearly half of the vote, but was denied the absolute majority by a few percent. Mesić faced off with Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor
Jadranka Kosor is a Croatian politician and former journalist. She is the current Prime Minister of Croatia, having taken office on July 6, 2009, following the sudden resignation of her predecessor Ivo Sanader. She is Croatia's first female Prime Minister since independence.-Early life:Jadranka...
in the run-off election and won. He served his second 5-year term until 2010 when he was superseded by Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović
Ivo Josipović is a Croatian politician who has been President of Croatia since 2010. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Croatia , and played a key role in the democratic transformation of this party as the author of the first statute of the SDP that replaced the...
.
Controversies
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
was formed) "as well as in 1945" (when the communist anti-fascists prevailed and the Socialist Republic of Croatia was formed), as well as that Croatia needed to apologize to no one for the Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp
Jasenovac concentration camp was the largest extermination camp in the Independent State of Croatia and occupied Yugoslavia during World War II...
(i.e. the WWII Holocaust against Serbs and Jews).
Mesić sparked controversy on the issue of the Independent State of Croatia on another occasion during a speech in which he claimed that not all Croats fighting for the Independent State of Croatia were Ustashe supporters and claimed that most were fighting legitimately for Croatian independence.
On 1 March 2006 the Civic Assembly of Podgorica
Podgorica
Podgorica , is the capital and largest city of Montenegro.Podgorica's favourable position at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers and the meeting point of the fertile Zeta Plain and Bjelopavlići Valley has encouraged settlement...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
's capital, decided to declare Mesić an honorary citizen. The move was heavily criticized and caused a significant controversy within Montenegro.
On 21 December 2008, President Mesić compared Dodik
Milorad Dodik
Milorad Dodik , is the President of Republika Srpska, and the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats political party. He graduated from the Belgrade University of Political Sciences .-Political career:...
's policies to those of the late Serbian President Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
at the beginning of the 1990s. "Just as the world failed to recognize Milošević's policy then, it does not recognize Dodik's policy today," he said. Explaining where such a policy could be headed, he added: "If Dodik manages to merge Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
with Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, all Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
concentrated in Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
will want to join 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 ...
in the same manner, leaving a rump Bosniak
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
country, surrounded by enemies. If this were to occur, that small country would become the refuge of all the world's terrorists."
Mesić has been accused by the Croatian Helsinki Committee
Croatian Helsinki Committee
Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights is the leading organisation for protection and promotion of human rights in Croatia...
of obstructing the investigation of war crimes committed by the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Committee also accused Mesić of abusing the commemorations at the Jasenovac concentration camp for political purposes.
In 2009, he publicly proposed that all crucifixes be removed from Croatian state offices, provoking a negative reaction from the Catholic Church in Croatia.
Lawsuits
In 2006, Mesić told the Croatian press that Croatian-French lawyer Ivan Jurasinović should visit the psychiatric clinic at VrapčeVrapce
Vrapče is a neighborhood of western Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It is administratively part of the district Podsused—Vrapče. Vrapče consists of Donje Vrapče and Gornje Vrapče...
, after Jurasinović filed charges for Marin Tomulić against Marko Nikolić and others for attempted murder. Jurasinović subsequently launched a civil suit against Mesić which found the president guilty of using his position to attempt to discredit and slander him. Mesić was ordered to compensate Jurasinović 70,000 kuna.
In April, 2008 Josip Kokić petitioned the Croatian Constitutional Court
Croatian Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia is the interpreter and guardian of the Croatian Constitution and considered the highest judicial authority de facto, because it can overturn Supreme Court decisions on the basis of constitutional breaches...
to remove the president's legal immunity, so that he could sue him. The court decided against removing the immunity. Ivan Jurasinović launched another appeal to remove the immunity in November, 2008.
In 2008, former Constitutional Court judge Vice Vukojević launched a case against Mesić, alleging that he embezzled money along with Vladimir Sokolić under the guise of purchasing vehicles for the Croatian Army in 1993.
Awards
- Knight Grand Cross with Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Italian RepublicOrder of Merit of the Italian RepublicThe Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
, October 5, 2001 - Order of the White Double CrossOrder of the White Double CrossThe Order of the White Double Cross is the highest state decoration of the Republic of Slovakia.The Order was instituted on 1 March 1994 after Slovakia became independent on 1 January 1993...
, First Class (Slovakia, 2001) - Grand Order of King TomislavGrand Order of King TomislavThe Grand Order of King Tomislav , or more fully the Grand Order of King Tomislav with Sash and Great Morning Star , is the highest state order of the Republic of Croatia...
("For outstanding contribution to international fame and position of the Republic of Croatia.", 11 July 2005) - Order of St. Michael and St. George (United Kingdom): Commander Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of Three Stars (2008)
- Honorary citizen of PristinaPristinaPristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
(2009): Received a copy of the key of the city of TiranaTiranaTirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
on the occasion of his state visit to Albania.
Quotes
-
- -when asked if the solution for Croatians in Bosnia Herzegovina is to create a third entity.
-
- -criticizing Republika SrpskaRepublika SrpskaRepublika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and its leader Milorad DodikMilorad DodikMilorad Dodik , is the President of Republika Srpska, and the president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats political party. He graduated from the Belgrade University of Political Sciences .-Political career:...
.
- -criticizing Republika Srpska
-
- -responding to an earlier quote in which he stated My task has come to an end. There is no more Yugoslavia. ("Moj posao je završen - Jugoslavije više nema") December 5, 1991 in the Croatian parliament having left the presidency of the Yugoslav presidency.
-
- -on a visit to the city of JajceJajceJajce is a city and municipality located in the central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is part of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity...
, Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, the city where SFR Yugoslavia was founded during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
- -on a visit to the city of Jajce
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