Josip Leko (born 19 September 1948) 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 who served as

Speaker of the Croatian Parliament The speaker of the Croatian Parliament ( hr, Predsjednik Hrvatskog sabora, literally the president of the Croatian Parliament) is the presiding officer in the Croatian Parliament, Croatia's legislative body. Under Article 97 of the constitutio ...

from 2012 to 2015.

Biography

He was born in 1948 in

Plavna Plavna (Serbian Cyrillic: Плавна) is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Bač municipality, in the South Bačka District, Vojvodina province. Its population is ethnically mixed and numbering 1,392 people (2002 census). Name In Serb ...

village ( Bač municipality) in

Bačka Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary ...

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 ...

(then

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

) to a Croatian family from Ledinac near

Grude Grude () is a town and a municipality located in West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Geography Grude is located 49 kilometers from Mostar, 19 kilometers from Imotski, and 1 ...

in western Herzegovina. When he was one and a half years old the family returned to

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

. He finished high school in Herzegovina and went to

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

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 ...

where he got a major in law. On 19 June 2012 he became a president of the Executive Council of 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 ...

. When in 2013 he became the Speaker of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

he became the first

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

from

to hold such a high position in Croatian politics.

Career

Leko was deputy speaker from 23 December 2011 to 30 September 2012, when he succeeded

Boris Šprem Boris Šprem (14 April 1956 – 30 September 2012) was a Croatian politician who was the speaker of the Croatian Parliament from 2011 to 2012. He was the first and to date only speaker to die in office since country's independence in 1991. Earl ...

, who died in office, as interim speaker. He had already been acting as speaker during Šprem's absence due to cancer treatment in Houston, Texas. He was proposed as the permanent Speaker of the Parliament by the ruling coalition and was confirmed on 10 October 2012, by a vote of 123 parliamentarians out of 151. On 3 June 2016, Croatian Parliament appointed him as a justice of the

Constitutional Court of Croatia The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Ustavni sud Republike Hrvatske) is an institution that acts as the interpreter and guardian of the Croatian Constitution and which monitors the conformity of laws with the Constitution as ...

and he took his position on 7 June.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leko, Josip 1948 births Living people Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb alumni Social Democratic Party of Croatia politicians Speakers of the Croatian Parliament Bač, Serbia Croats of Vojvodina