Ivan Jakovčić (born 15 November 1957) is a Croatian politician who served as

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 ...

Istria County Istria County (; hr, Istarska županija; it, Regione istriana, "Istrian Region") is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula ( out of , or 89%). Administrative centers in the county are Pazi ...

from 2001 to 2013.

Political career

After finishing primary and secondary education in Poreč, Jakovčić graduated from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Foreign Trade in 1980. In the 1980s Jakovčić worked in exports and marketing divisions of the Istrian company Pazinka and after that became an entrepreneur and took part in investments in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and Croatia. In 1991 he entered politics and was elected chairman of the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), an Istrian

regional party Regionalism is a political ideology that seeks to increase the political power, influence, and/or self-determination of the people of one or more subnational regions. It focuses on the "development of a political or social system based on one or ...

. He was elected to 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 ...

five times, in the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

elections. After the opposition won the 2000 elections IDS formed a coalition with the

Social Democratic Party of Croatia The Social Democratic Party of Croatia ( hr, Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske, SDP) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia. The SDP is anti-fascist, progressive, and strongly pro-European. The SDP was formed in 1990 as the succe ...

(SDP) and several other parties, and Jakovčić was appointed minister of the newly established Ministry of European Integration. However, when IDS decided to leave the ruling coalition in 2001 he resigned and ran in the local elections held the same year. After IDS won the local elections, Jakovčić became the head of the

, position he held until 2013 after being re-elected in 2005 and 2009. Jakovčić is also the longest serving party chairman in modern Croatia, having been leader of IDS continuously since 1991. His sixth consecutive term as head of IDS was confirmed by

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

at the party convention held on 14 February 2010. From 2014 until 2019, Jakovčić was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

Controversy

On October 23, 2014, the European Parliament received a request to remove Jakovčić's immunity. He ultimately had his immunity lifted, paving the way for a defamation lawsuit against him to proceed. At the time, he was being pursued by Austrian businessman Georg List who had been attempting to build a polo facility and blamed Dalmatian local authorities for placing obstacles in his way. When asked to comment in July 2014, Jakovčić is alleged to have said “I do not comment on idiots”, prompting the lawsuit.James Panichi (March 26, 2015)
Committee recommends lifting of MEPs’ immunity
''

European Voice ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the German-owned news organization ''Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices ...

''.

Personal life

Jakovčić is married with three children. He is fluent in Italian,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. He is a self-proclaimed wine connoisseur and enjoys playing golf.

References

External links

Ivan Jakovčić
at the

website
Ivan Jakovčić
at the

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Jakovcic, Ivan 1957 births Living people People from Poreč Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb alumni Istrian Democratic Assembly politicians Government ministers of Croatia MEPs for Croatia 2014–2019