Anja Šimpraga ( sr-Cyrl, Ања Шимпрага; born 23 July 1987) is a Croatian politician serving as a

Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia The deputy prime minister of Croatia (officially the Vice President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, hr, Potpredsjednik Vlade Republike Hrvatske) is the official Deputy Prime Minister, deputy of the Prime Minister of Croatia. Articl ...

and a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

in charge of social affairs and human and minority rights since 29 April 2022. Previously, she served as a member of the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor ...

from 2020 to 2022. An ethnic

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

, Šimpraga is a member of the

Independent Democratic Serb Party The Independent Democratic Serb Party ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Самостална демократска српска странка, Samostalna demokratska srpska stranka, SDSS) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia representing the intere ...

(SDSS).

Biography

Šimpraga was born on 23 July 1987 in

Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...

, in the

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Social ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

. During the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

, Knin was controlled by the separatist

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...

until the

Operation Storm }) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory for the Croatian Army (HV), which attacked across a front against the self-declared proto-state R ...

in 1995 when the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...

regained control of Knin and the rest of Krajina. Following the operation, Šimpraga became a refugee, fleeing Knin to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

with her family. Šimpraga later returned to Croatia and became a member of the

(SDSS) at the age of 18. She graduated at the Faculty of Agriculture,

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

and later obtained a degree in food technology from the Marko Marulić Polytechnic University in Knin. From 2016 to 2020, Šimpraga was the deputy

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the

Šibenik-Knin County Šibenik-Knin County (; hr, Šibensko-kninska županija ) is a county in southern Croatia, located in the north-central part of Dalmatia. The biggest city in the county is Šibenik, which also serves as county seat. Other notable towns in the co ...

. She was sworn in as a member of the

following the appointment of SDSS MP Boris Milošević as a government minister. On 31 July 2020, five days before the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Knin and the

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

, Šimpraga spoke in front of the Parliament about her experience as an eight-year-old in the column of Operation Storm refugees. Due to the lack of discourse in Croatia on civilian Serb victims of Operation Storm, Šimpraga's speech was widely dubbed "important", "powerful" and "historical". On 29 April 2022, Šimpraga was appointed a

deputy prime minister of Croatia The deputy prime minister of Croatia (officially the Vice President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, hr, Potpredsjednik Vlade Republike Hrvatske) is the official Deputy Prime Minister, deputy of the Prime Minister of Croatia. Articl ...

and a

in charge of social affairs and human and minority rights, succeeding Milošević who once again became an MP.

Personal life

Šimpraga is married and lives in Radučić.

References

1987 births Living people People from Knin Serbs of Croatia Yugoslav Wars refugees 21st-century Croatian women politicians Independent Democratic Serb Party politicians Government ministers of Croatia {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpraga, Anja