Vladimir Šeks | |
---|---|
6thSpeaker of the Croatian Parliament | |
In office 22 December 2003 – 11 January 2008 |
|
Preceded by | Zlatko Tomčić |
Succeeded by | Luka Bebić |
Leader of the Opposition (acting) | |
In office 27 January 2000 – 30 April 2000 |
|
Preceded by | Dražen Budiša |
Succeeded by | Ivo Sanader |
Personal details | |
Born |
Osijek, Independent State of Croatia |
1 January 1943
Political party | Croatian Democratic Union |
Other political affiliations |
League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Before 1990) |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
^a In order counting from the 1990 parliamentary election. 16th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament overall. |
Vladimir Šeks (born 1 January 1943) is a Croatian lawyer and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) politician. He has been a representative in the Croatian Parliament since the nation's independence, and has held the posts of the Speaker of the Parliament as well as Deputy Prime Minister of the Government. He graduated from the Law Faculty in Zagreb in 1966.
From 1972-81 he worked as a lawyer until his arrest for "anti-state actions" against communist Yugoslavia. He served 13 months in the prison at Stara Gradiška. Later, he was an attorney for dissidents, including the "Belgrade Six" (1984–85).
In 1990, Šeks was one of the founders of the Osijek branch of the Croatian Democratic Union. In 1991, he was one of the main drafters of the Constitution of Croatia. In 1992, he was named the State Prosecutor of the Republic of Croatia. He was a deputy of the President of the Government of Croatia under Hrvoje Šarinić and Nikica Valentić from 1992-95. Šeks served as the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament from 22 December 2003 until 11 January 2008.
His 25-year-old son Domagoj, was found dead in Goa, India on 26 February 2005 after he was reported missing by friends a day earlier. The exact circumstances of his death were never determined.
In 2009, he testified in the Branimir Glavaš trial as a witness for the defence, and his testimony was later dismissed by the presiding judge as "completely implausible", and the court rendered a guilty verdict.
In 2010, Amnesty International issued a statement that Šeks should be prosecuted based upon testimony from the Glavaš trial.
In January 2011 the Ministry of Justice responded to the AI report saying their conclusions were "arbitrary and wrong" in the case of Šeks.