List of Presidents of Croatia

This is a list of Heads of State of Croatia. Historically, the first republican heads of state of Croatia (then a constituent republic of the Yugoslavia) were the Presidents of the Presidium of the Croatian Parliament, an office notably distinct from the Speaker of the Parliament (Predsjednik Sabora). When the Presidium was abolished in the constitutional reforms of 1953, the position defaulted to the Presidents of the Parliament. In 1974, a new constitution brought about a collective Croatian Presidency, with the President of the Presidency as head of state of the Republic. The next constitution of 1990 abolished the Presidency and established a single office of the President, which (under a new semi-presidential system) was now much more empowered than any of the previous offices. Up until this point, the various heads of state wielded far less real executive power than the Prime Ministers.

Since 1990, the President of the Republic of Croatia (Predsjednik) is directly elected to a five-year term and is limited to a maximum of two terms. However, with the constitution of 2001, the powers of the President (much expanded in 1990) were now again severely curtailed, as Croatia shifted from a semi-presidential system, to a parliamentary system. As in most parliamentary systems, the President is now by-and-large a ceremonial office, with the Prime Minister de facto heading the executive branch.

  League of Communists of Yugoslavia (2)

  League of Communists of Yugoslavia (5)

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