Ivić Pašalić (; born 3 November 1960) is a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n 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 Zagreb and in 1980 he entered Faculty of Medicine at 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 ...

. He graduated in 1986 and gained master's degree at the Faculty of Medicine at the

University of Mostar The University of Mostar ( hr, Sveučilište u Mostaru; la, Universitas Studiorum Mostariensis) is the largest public university located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previously it was called the University Džemal Bijedić of Mostar, n ...

, where he specialised internal medicine. He started to work as a doctor in

Lepoglava Lepoglava is a town in Varaždin County, northern Croatia, located southwest of Varaždin, west of Ivanec, and northeast of Krapina. Demographics A total of 8,283 residents in the municipality (2011 census) live in the following settlements: * ...

where he worked for two years, after which he was employed at the Hospital for Pulmonary Diseases and TB in Klenovnik where he worked as a director as well. In 1992 he became a director of the Prison Hospital in Zagreb.

Political career

Pašalić was one of the founders of the HDZ in

Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...

and Ivanec in 1989. Between 1990 and 2002 Pašalić was a member of parliament, elected as such for three terms. During the time he was president of the Executive Committee of the HDZ and member of the party's presidency. Pašalić was an advisor of the Croatian president Franjo Tuđman. He was referred to as the number two man in the country. In 1996, Pašalić was instrumental in the effort to suppress

Radio 101 Radio 101 may refer to: * Radio 101 (Croatia) * Radio 101 (Latvia) * Radio 101 (Malta) NET FM is a Maltese radio station owned by Media.link Communications, the media arm of the Nationalist Party. External links * References Radio s ...

. In the late 1990s, Pašalić became target of a media campaign linking him to Miroslav Kutle, Vinko Grubišić, Ninoslav Pavić and others. They allegedly entered into a series of secret partnerships which resulted in the formation a company called "Grupo" in 1996, which was influential in the early operation of Nova TV, founded in 1999. After Tuđman's death, Pašalić's reputation and influence in the HDZ was decreasing. After the defeat of HDZ at the 2000 parliamentary elections, in 2002 Pašalić formally challenged the new HDZ leader

Ivo Sanader Ivo Sanader (born 8 June 1953) is a former Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009. He is to date the second longest-serving prime minister since independence, holding the office for over five and a half ye ...

for party leadership, but ultimately failed, on a dramatic party convention, where Slavonian party politicians including

Vladimir Šeks Vladimir Šeks (born 1 January 1943) is a Croatian lawyer and 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 M ...

and

Branimir Glavaš Branimir Glavaš (born 23 September 1956 in Osijek) is a Croatian former major general and Right-wing politics, right-wing politician. He was one of the founders of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party which was in power in the 1990s and one of ...

played an influential role in Pašalić's defeat. New president of the HDZ,

, start the reorganisation of the party and Pašalić was his opponent. Soon after, Pašalić left the HDZ. He formed his own party called Croatian Bloc (''Hrvatski blok'', "HB"). He remained a member of parliament until the end of 2003. In the 2003 parliamentary elections, HB did not win any seats in the Parliament. In the 2005 presidential election, Ivić Pašalić ran as the HB candidate and finished seventh, with 1.82% of the vote.

Business career

Pašalić is owner of several firms such as ''Kapital Konzulting'' and ''Odra Servis''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasalic, Ivic 1960 births People from Tomislavgrad Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian Democratic Union politicians Living people Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament Candidates for President of Croatia Order of Ante Starčević recipients