Hrvoje Šarinić (; 17 February 1935 – 21 July 2017)
was a Croatian politician who served as
Prime Minister of Croatia
, type = Head of Government
, member_of =
, reports_to = Croatian Parliament
, appointer = Croatian Parliament
, nominator = President of Croatia
, termlength = At the pleasure of the parliamentary majority. Parliamentary elections must be h ...
from 1992 to 1993.
Šarinić was born in
Sušak and graduated from the
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 ...
then-Faculty of Architecture, Construction and Geodesy.
Šarinić had a business career in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. He was a dual citizen of both Croatia and of France, as he spent 24 years in France, from 1963 to 1987.
After the first democratic elections in Croatia, he joined the government of
Franjo Tuđman and became head of his personal office.
After the parliamentary elections of 1992 he, as member of
Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), was appointed to the post of prime minister.
His cabinet, like all in Tuđman years, was less concerned with foreign policy and war and more with domestic issues.
One of those issues was privatisation of state-owned companies. During his time many of the most controversial events of that process took place, including the now infamous takeover of
Slobodna Dalmacija
''Slobodna Dalmacija'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split.
The first issue of ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' was published on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city ...
in early 1993.
By that time Croatian economy continued to decline, Šarinić himself became immensely unpopular and even his native
Primorje-Gorski Kotar County rejected HDZ at local elections in February 1993. All that, together with escalating war in
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...
, led Tuđman to replace him with
Nikica Valentić
Nikica Valentić (; born 24 November 1950) is a Croatian entrepreneur, lawyer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 1993 to 1995. He is to date the youngest person to have served in that capacity, being 42 years old when taki ...
in April 1993.
Šarinić was not demoted, however. He continued to serve as Tuđman's close advisor and was, for a while, head of Croatian security services.
He remained in public spotlight because of his diplomatic missions and frequent negotiations with
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
. After one of those missions he created great deal of controversy by claiming that one of the results of former Yugoslav wars should be "little Greater Serbia".
[Biography](_blank)
at Moljac.hr
In 1995, he was the government's official representative in the
Erdut Agreement
The Erdut Agreement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Erdutski sporazum, Ердутски споразум), officially the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, was an agreement reached on 12 November 1 ...
.
In 1998, Šarinić publicly criticized high-ranking HDZ politician
Ivić Pašalić
Ivić Pašalić (; born 3 November 1960) is a Croatian politician and former prominent member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
Education and medical career
Pašalić was born in Šuica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He attended high school in ...
and – after Tuđman sided with Pašalić – resigned from his post. In 2000 he joined and was briefly active with the newly formed
Democratic Centre.
Šarinić died on 21 July 2017 in Zagreb at the age of 82.
He was buried at
Mirogoj
The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, hr, Gradsko groblje Mirogoj), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery ( hr, Groblje Mirogoj), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members o ...
five days after his death, on 26 July.
See also
*
Cabinet of Hrvoje Šarinić
The Fourth Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Četvrta Vlada Republike Hrvatske) was the Croatian Government cabinet led by Prime Minister Hrvoje Šarinić. It was announced on 12 August 1992 after the 1992 Croatian parliamentary elec ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarinic, Hrvoje
1935 births
2017 deaths
Politicians from Rijeka
University of Zagreb alumni
Prime Ministers of Croatia
Croatian Democratic Union politicians
Democratic Centre (Croatia) politicians
Order of Ante Starčević recipients
Croatian expatriates in France
HNK Rijeka chairmen and investors
Businesspeople from Rijeka