Government of Croatia

Government Of Croatia

The Government of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Vlada Republike Hrvatske), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government (Croatian: Hrvatska Vlada), is the main executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the President of the Government (Croatian: Predsjednik Vlade), commonly abbreviated to premier (Croatian: premijer) or prime minister. The prime minister is nominated by the President of the Republic from among those candidates who enjoy majority support in the Croatian Parliament; the candidate is then chosen by the Parliament. There are 20 other government members, serving as deputy prime ministers, government ministers or both; they are chosen by the prime minister and confirmed by the Parliament (Sabor). The Government of the Republic of Croatia exercises its executive powers in conformity with the Croatian Constitution and legislation enacted by the Croatian Parliament. The current government is led by Prime Minister Zoran Milanović.

Following the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868, the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and the Government of the Land (Croatian: Zemaljska Vlada)—headed by a crown-appointed ban—were established. This government existed until the Austria-Hungary breakup and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes' creation in 1918. In 1939, the Banovina of Croatia was established and a head of the Banovina of Croatia was appointed by the crown, but no effective government was formed before World War II. In 1943, the ZAVNOH established an executive board to act as a new government. Communist Croatia, while a part of Communist Yugoslavia, had a separate government, with limited powers (excluding defence and foreign relations; this was similar to all the previous governmental forms). Following the first multi-party elections and the adoption of the present Constitution of Croatia in 1990, the present governmental form was adopted and Stjepan Mesić became the first person to hold the title of Prime Minister of Croatia (with Croatia as part of Yugoslavia), while Franjo Gregurić was the first prime minister of an independent Croatia. Since Communist rule's end, the Republic of Croatia has had twelve governments headed by ten different prime ministers. Eight governments have been formed by the Croatian Democratic Union, three by the Social Democratic Party of Croatia and one was a national unity government (formed during the Croatian War of Independence's peak).