Croatia: Government#

Country nameconventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia
local long form: Republika Hrvatska
local short form: Hrvatska
former: People's Republic of Croatia, Socialist Republic of Croatia
etymology: name derives from the Croats, a Slavic tribe who migrated to the Balkans in the 7th century A.D.
Government typeparliamentary republic
CapitalZagreb Zagreb
geographic coordinates: 45 48 N, 16 00 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular) and 1 city* (grad - singular) with special county status; Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska(Bjelovar-Bilogora), Brodsko-Posavska (Brod-Posavina), Dubrovacko-Neretvanska (Dubrovnik-Neretva), Istarska (Istria), Karlovacka (Karlovac), Koprivnicko-Krizevacka (Koprivnica-Krizevci), Krapinsko-Zagorska (Krapina-Zagorje), Licko-Senjska (Lika-Senj), Medimurska (Medimurje), Osjecko-Baranjska (Osijek-Baranja), Pozesko-Slavonska (Pozega-Slavonia), Primorsko-Goranska (Primorje-Gorski Kotar), Sibensko-Kninska (Sibenik-Knin), Sisacko-Moslavacka (Sisak-Moslavina), Splitsko-Dalmatinska (Split-Dalmatia), Varazdinska (Varazdin), Viroviticko-Podravska (Virovitica-Podravina), Vukovarsko-Srijemska (Vukovar-Syrmia), Zadarska (Zadar), Zagreb*, Zagrebacka (Zagreb county)
Independence25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
National holidayIndependence Day, 8 October (1991) and Statehood Day, 25 June (1991); note - 25 June 1991 was the day the Croatian parliament voted for independence; following a three-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia
Constitutionhistory: several previous; latest adopted 22 December 1990
amendments: proposed by at least one-fifth of the members in the Assembly, by the president of the republic, by the Government of Croatia, or by petition of 10 percent of total number of voters; proceedings to amend require majority vote of all Assembly members; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of all Assembly members; passage of amendments by petition requires a majority vote in a popular referendum; promulgation by the Assembly; amended several times, last in 2014 (2016)
Legal systemcivil law system influenced by legal heritage of Austria-Hungary; note - Croatian law was fully harmonized with the European Community acquis as of the June 2010 completion of EU accession negotiations
International law organization participationhas not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenshipcitizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Croatia
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Suffrage18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal
Executive branchchief of state: President Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC (since 19 February 2015)
head of government: Prime Minister Andrej PLENKOVIC (since 19 October 2016); Deputy Prime Ministers Davor Ivo STIER, Damir KRSTICEVIC, Martina DALIC, Ivan KOVACIC (since 19 October 2016)
cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the Assembly
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 December 2014 and 11 January 2015 (next to be held in 2019); the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president and approved by the Assembly
election results: Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC elected president; percent of vote in the second round - Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC (HDZ) 50.7%, Ivo JOSIPOVIC (Forward Croatia Progressive Alliance) 49.3%
Legislative branchdescription: unicameral Assembly or Hrvatski Sabor (151 seats; members directly elected by party-list proportional representation vote using the D'Hondt method with a 5% threshold: 14 seats in each of 10 districts; 8 seats in a single nationwide district for minorities; 3 seats in a single special district for the Croatian diaspora, members elected for 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 September 2016 (next to be held in September 2020) - Assembly voted on 20 June 2016 to dissolve on 15 July 2016, resulting in snap elections
election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; number of seats by party/coalition - HDZ coalition 61, People's Coalition 54, Most-NL 13, Only Option 8, minorities 8 (includes SDSS 3), other 7

note: as of December 2016, seats by party - HDZ 56, SDP 37, MOST-NL 14, HNS 9, HSS 5, IDS 3, SDSS 3, HDS 2, PH 2, Human Blockade 2, other 7
Judicial branchhighest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the court president and vice president, 25 civil department justices, and 16 criminal department justices)
judge selection and term of office: president of Supreme Court nominated by president of Croatia and elected by Croatian Sabor for a 4-year term; other Supreme Court justices appointed by National Judicial Council; all judges serve until age 70
subordinate courts: Administrative Court; county, municipal, and specialized courts; note - there is an 11-member Constitutional Court with jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues but is outside Croatia's judicial system
Political parties and leadersBloc of Pensioners Together or BUZ (Milivoj SPIKA)
Bridge of Independent Lists or Most-NL (Bozo PETROV)
Croatian Christian Democratic Party or HDS (Goran DODIG)
Croatian Democratic Congress of Slavonia and Baranja or HDSSB (Dragan VULIN)
Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ (Andrej PLENKOVIC)
Croatian Laborists - Labor Party or HL (Tomislav KONCEVSKI)
Croatian Party of Rights - dr. Ante Starcevic or HSP AS (Ivan TEPES)
Croatian Peasant Party or HSS (Kreso BELJAK)
Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU (Silvano HRELJA)
Croatian People's Party - Liberal Democrats or HNS (Ivan VRDOLJAK)
Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS (Darinko KOSOR)
Forward Croatia Progressive Alliance (Ivo JOSIPOVIC)
HDZ Coalition (Andrej PLENKOVIC) (includes HDZ, HSLS, HDS) (temporary electoral coalition)
Human Blockade (Ivan SINCIC)
Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS (Vojislav STANIMIROVIC)
Independent List of Stipe Petrina or NLSP (Stipe PETRINA)
Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS (Boris MILETIC)
Istrian Democrats (Damir KAJIN)
Let's Change Croatia or PH (Ivan LOVRINOVIC)
Milan Bandic 365 - Party of Labor and Solidarity or BM365-SRS (Milan BANDIC)
Movement for Successful Croatia or HRAST (Ladislav ILCIC)
People's Coalition (Zoran MILANOVIC) (includes SDP, HNS, HSU, HSS) (temporary electoral coalition)
People's Party - Reformists Party (Radimir CACIC)
Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP (Zoran MILANOVIC)
The Only Option Coalition (includes Human Blockade, PH, Always Frankers, Youth Action, Alphabet of Democracy)
Political pressure groups and leadersother: human rights groups
International organization participationAustralia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EMU, EU, FAO, G-11, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (observer), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the USchief of mission: Ambassador Josip "Josko" PARO (since 20 April 2012)
chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (1) (202) 588-5899
FAX: (1) (202) 588-8936
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the USchief of mission: Ambassador Julieta Valls NOYES (since 5 October 2015)
embassy: 2 Thomas Jefferson Street, 10010 Zagreb
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: (385) (1) 661-2200
FAX: (385) (1) 661-2373
Flag descriptionthree equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue - the Pan-Slav colors - superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms; the coat of arms consists of one main shield (a checkerboard of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields) surmounted by five smaller shields that form a crown over the main shield; the five small shields represent five historic regions (from left to right): Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia
note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia
National symbol(s)red-white checkerboard; national colors: red, white, blue
National anthemname: "Lijepa nasa domovino" (Our Beautiful Homeland)
lyrics/music: Antun MIHANOVIC/Josip RUNJANIN

note: adopted 1972; "Lijepa nasa domovino," whose lyrics were written in 1835, served as an unofficial anthem beginning in 1891