Tomislav Tomašević (; born 13 January 1982) is a Croatian politician, activist, environmentalist and political scientist who is serving as
mayor of Zagreb
This article contains a list of people who have served as mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, or president of the Zagreb Assembly.
List
See also
*List of mayors in Croatia
References
External links
Grad Zagreb - svi gradonačelnici since 2021. He is one of the leaders of the local
Zagreb is OURS! political party and the national
We Can! political party. Since the
2017 Zagreb local elections
The 2017 Zagreb local elections were held on 21 May and 4 June 2017 for the Mayor of Zagreb and members of the Zagreb Assembly. Milan Bandić, the 52nd and incumbent mayor since 2005 (previously also the 50th mayor from 2000 to 2002), ran for a si ...
, he has been a delegate in the
Zagreb Assembly
The City Assembly of the City of Zagreb is the lawmaking body of the Croatian capital of Zagreb. It consists of 47 members who were elected by universal suffrage and secret ballot at 2017 elections for a term of four years. The assembly meets at ...
. He was also 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 ...
in the
2020 election. He serves as the ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' leader of the
Green–Left Coalition
The Green–Left Coalition ( hr, Zeleno–lijeva koalicija) is a left-wing political alliance in Croatia represented by six MPs. It is composed of the We can! - political platform, New Left, Sustainable Development of Croatia, as well some City ...
.
He ran for mayor of Zagreb in the
2021 local elections and defeated right-wing candidate
Miroslav Škoro
Miroslav Škoro (; born 29 July 1962) is a Croatian musician, television host and politician. He is the founder and the first president of the conservative Homeland Movement party, which he established in February 2020 and led until July 2021. As ...
in the second round, by a margin of 64% to 34%. In the
2021 mayoral election in Zagreb, Tomašević received a record number of votes in both rounds.
Life
Early life and education
Tomašević was born in 1982 in
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
to mother Ivanka and father Smiljan. He and his brother Tihomir grew up in
Zapruđe
Zapruđe is a neighbourhood in Zagreb, in the Novi Zagreb East District just south of Sava River near the Youth Bridge. The Zapruđe local committee had a population of 6,184 at the 2011 census.
As of 2012, the district consists mostly of re ...
and later in
Zaprešić
Zaprešić () is a town in Hrvatsko zagorje, Zagreb County in Croatia. It has a population of 19,644 inhabitants in the town proper, with 25,223 in the administrative area. The town's metropolitan area, which encompasses the seven neighbouring m ...
as young family moved before his returning to Zagreb.
Tomašević's uncle, Ivo Tomašević, is a Catholic priest and a prominent member of the
Episcopal Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( hr, Biskupska Konferencija Bosne i Hercegovine) is the permanent assembly of Catholic bishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina founded in 1994 by the Holy See.
The president of the Conference is electe ...
.
His paternal grandparents were
Bosnian Croats
The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs, and are one of the constitutive nations of Bosnia and ...
from Vidovice near
Orašje
Orašje ( sr-cyrl, Орашје) is a city and the capital of Posavina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of river S ...
.
Tomašević graduated from the Faculty of Political Science 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 ...
in 2006, and completed a postgraduate of environment, society and development from the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 2013. He received several awards and scholarships, including the
Marshal Memorial Fellowship,
Chevening Fellowship and
Cambridge Overseas Trust Fellowship.
Personal life
In 2016 he married his wife Iva Mertić in a Catholic ceremony.
Tomašević worked professionally in various non-governmental organisations.
Political career
Early activities
At the age of 16, as a young
environmental protection
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...
activist Tomašević joined non-governmental organization
Green Action. He was soon the first vice-president and later the president of the Croatian Youth Network ( hr, Mreža mladih Hrvatske), a
European Youth Forum
The European Youth Forum (from french: Youth Forum Jeunesse, YFJ) is an international non-profit association and serves as a platform and advocacy group of the national youth councils and international non-governmental youth organisations in Euro ...
full member organization. He was later a president of the Green Action from 2007, with Bernard Ivčić, longtime deputy, succeeded him as the president in June 2012.
Run for mayor of Zagreb (2017–2021)
In the
2017 local elections, Tomašević ran for
mayor of Zagreb
This article contains a list of people who have served as mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, or president of the Zagreb Assembly.
List
See also
*List of mayors in Croatia
References
External links
Grad Zagreb - svi gradonačelnici , at the head of a coalition led by the
Zagreb is OURS! political party, and won 3.94% of the vote at the mayoral election.
[ The coalition won four seats in the ]Zagreb Assembly
The City Assembly of the City of Zagreb is the lawmaking body of the Croatian capital of Zagreb. It consists of 47 members who were elected by universal suffrage and secret ballot at 2017 elections for a term of four years. The assembly meets at ...
. Tomašević was among the elected councilors from the coalition, and was a vocal critic of Mayor Milan Bandić
Milan Bandić (22 November 1955 – 28 February 2021) was a Croatian politician and the longest-serving List of mayors of Zagreb, mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Bandić was mayor almost continuously from 2000 to 2021, except during the ...
in the Assembly.
Elections in 2021
In February 2021, Tomašević announced his candidacy for mayor of Zagreb in the 2021 local elections.[ Tomašević submitted 20,236 signatures to the State Electoral Commission (DIP) on 29 April. On the next day, the DIP confirmed that Tomašević and nine more candidates had submitted signatures from registered voters, and that they had thus qualified to be official candidates for mayor. On the 16 May elections, Tomašević won 147,631 votes (45.15%) making him the first candidate for new mayor in the second round. However, as no candidate received a majority of the votes, he faced ]Miroslav Škoro
Miroslav Škoro (; born 29 July 1962) is a Croatian musician, television host and politician. He is the founder and the first president of the conservative Homeland Movement party, which he established in February 2020 and led until July 2021. As ...
of the Homeland Movement
''Homeland Movement'' is the debut studio album by Australian rock band Yothu Yindi that was released in April 1989 on the Mushroom Records label. The album peaked at number 59 on the ARIA Chart in 1992.
Background and release
Following a tou ...
in the second round
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds e ...
on 30 May. In this elections, the Tomašević's father, Smiljan, was a candidate at the Homeland Movement list for the Zagreb Assembly.
On 30 May in the runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...
, Tomašević won the mayoral office with 199,630 votes or 63.87% of the vote. He won over Škoro who received 106,300 votes or 34% of the vote. In addition, just as was the case in the first round, Tomašević's second round performance once more set a new record for the number of votes received by a mayor candidate in Zagreb. Namely, his number of almost 200 thousand votes was larger by nearly 30,000 than that which Milan Bandić
Milan Bandić (22 November 1955 – 28 February 2021) was a Croatian politician and the longest-serving List of mayors of Zagreb, mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Bandić was mayor almost continuously from 2000 to 2021, except during the ...
received in the second round of the 2013 election.
Parliamentarian (2020–2021)
In the 2020 parliamentary election, at the head of the Green–Left Coalition
The Green–Left Coalition ( hr, Zeleno–lijeva koalicija) is a left-wing political alliance in Croatia represented by six MPs. It is composed of the We can! - political platform, New Left, Sustainable Development of Croatia, as well some City ...
, he was elected 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 ...
in its 10th term. His parliamentary mandate begin on 22 July 2020. By the end of July, he joined four parliamentary committees, Physical Planning and Construction Committee, Committee on the Constitution, Standing Orders and Political System, Interparliamentary Co-operation Committee, and executive committee of the National Group to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
In the 2021 Zagreb local elections Tomašević got elected for the Mayor of Zagreb
This article contains a list of people who have served as mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, or president of the Zagreb Assembly.
List
See also
*List of mayors in Croatia
References
External links
Grad Zagreb - svi gradonačelnici . Thus, he will have to resign from Parliament before assuming office as the mayor. On 18 June 2021, he put to dormant his mandate in Parliament. Since then his replacement has been Urša Raukar-Gamulin.
Mayor of Zagreb (2021–present)
Tomašević officially assumed the office of Mayor on 4 June 2021. The office of Mayor of Zagreb was handed over to him by acting mayor Jelena Pavičić Vukičević who took the office following the death of Mayor Milan Bandić
Milan Bandić (22 November 1955 – 28 February 2021) was a Croatian politician and the longest-serving List of mayors of Zagreb, mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Bandić was mayor almost continuously from 2000 to 2021, except during the ...
. Tomašević came to the handover by tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
and was late due to an emergency case on a tram station
A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, b ...
.
Media and opposition pressure
Within the first two months of appointment Tomislav Tomašević faced allegations by media and mostly right wing opposition of compromising his pre-election promises, corruption and investigations due to appointment of medical business owner Tomislav Lauc as the head of the Srebrnjak hospital who was sympathiser and small donor *(less than 2000 USD) of his party, as well as partial re-newing of the contract of the city of Zagreb (due to lack of alternatives) with the notorious C.I.O.S Group owned by Petar Pripuz despite promise not to.
Support of LGBTI+ and other minorities
On 3 July 2021, Tomašević attended the 20th annual Zagreb Pride
Zagreb Pride () is the annual LGBTIQ+ pride march in the city of Zagreb, Croatia, which first took place in 2002, as the first successful pride march in Southeast Europe. Zagreb Pride organizers say their work was inspired by the Stonewall Rio ...
, alongside other Croatian politicians such as Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
president Peđa Grbin
Peđa Grbin (born 24 May 1979) is a Croatian lawyer and politician serving as President of the Social Democratic Party since 2020. He was also Leader of the Opposition from 2020 until 2022, when he was replaced by Davorko Vidović, the leader of t ...
and Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
Boris Milošević
Boris Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Борис Милошевић, ; born 5 November 1974) is a Croatian lawyer and politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia between 2020 and 2022. He is a member of the Independent Democratic Serb Party ...
. Doing so, Tomašević became the first mayor of Zagreb to attend the parade, which he had already been doing prior to becoming the mayor. He stated that "they, as the new city government, wanted to show that no one can be discriminated on any grounds."
Electoral history
See also
* List of mayors of Zagreb
This article contains a list of people who have served as mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, or president of the Zagreb Assembly.
List
See also
*List of mayors in Croatia
References
External links
Grad Zagreb - svi gradonačelnici
* List of members of Croatian Parliament, 2020–
The 10th Sabor was inaugurated on 22 July 2020. The assembly came into existence following the early parliamentary election on 5 July 2020 and consists of 151 representatives elected from 10 geographical and two special electoral districts.
Par ...
References
Sources
*
External links
*
* at 10th Croatian Parliament
* at mozemo.hr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomasevic, Tomislav
1982 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Croatian environmentalists
Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni
Politicians from Zagreb
Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament
21st-century Croatian politicians
Mayors of Zagreb
LGBT rights activists from Croatia