Vesna Bedeković (born 22 February 1966) is a Croatian pedagog and politician who served as the
Minister of Demographics, Family, Youth and Social Policy from July 2019 to July 2020 in the
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
of
Andrej Plenković
Andrej Plenković ( ; born 8 April 1970) is a Croatian politician who has been serving as the prime minister of Croatia since 19 October 2016. He was previously one of eleven Croatian members of the European Parliament, serving from Croatia's ...
.
Early life and education
Born on 22 February 1966 in
Bjelovar
Bjelovar ( hu, Belovár, german: Bellowar, Kajkavian: ''Belovar'') is a city in central Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Bjelovar-Bilogora County. At the 2021 census, there were 36,433 inhabitants, of whom 93.06% were Croats.
History ...
, Bedeković attended elementary school in
Pitomača
Pitomača is a municipality in Croatia in the Virovitica–Podravina County. It has a population of 10,059 ( 2011 census), of whom 98.62% are Croats.
History
Since the end of the Ottoman Empire until 1918, Pitomača (named ''PITOMACA'' before ...
, and secondary school in
Virovitica
Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). It is als ...
. She graduated from the Faculty of Pedagogy at the
University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer in
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
, and from the Department of Pedagogy at the
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty may refer to:
* Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage)
* Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States)
* Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warra ...
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 ...
.
Pedagogical career
Bedeković began her career at the Kloštar Podravski Primary School, the Petar Preradović Primary School in Pitomača and the Central School Stjepan Sulimanac in
Pitomača
Pitomača is a municipality in Croatia in the Virovitica–Podravina County. It has a population of 10,059 ( 2011 census), of whom 98.62% are Croats.
History
Since the end of the Ottoman Empire until 1918, Pitomača (named ''PITOMACA'' before ...
, in the period between 1987 and 2006. From 2005 to 2009, he served as Head of the Administrative Department for Education, Culture, Sports and Technical Culture and Head of the Department of Social Activities of the
Virovitica-Podravina County
Virovitica-Podravina County (; hr, Virovitičko-podravska županija ; hu, Verőce-Drávamente megye) is a northern Slavonian county in Croatia. Its county seat is in Virovitica and it includes the area around the Drava river, hence the name ''P ...
. At the same time, she was teaching at the Faculty of Teacher Education and Faculty of Philosophy at the
University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer in
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
and at the Faculty of Philosophy 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 ...
.
From 2007 to 2009, Bedeković has served as a temporary dean, and from 23 March 2009 to 13 October 2016, she was a Dean of the High School of Management in Tourism and Informatics in
Virovitica
Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). It is als ...
. She left the dean's office when joined 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 ...
in October 2016.
Bedeković is a member of the Croatian Pedagogical Society and International Association for Intercultural Education (IAIE) and has worked, inter alia, on scientific projects linking interculturality and minority language education and access to Roma integration as well as the development of creativity in lifelong education of teachers.
Political career
From 14 October 2016 to 19 July 2019, Bedeković was a 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 ...
, replacing former
Minister of Agriculture
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
Tomislav Tolušić
Tomislav Tolušić (born 12 February 1979) is a Croatian politician who last worked as the 14th Minister of Agriculture since 19 October 2016 and Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy. He had previously served as Prefect of the Virovitica-Podra ...
on the spot of deputy MP and thus entered the Croatian legislative body even though she won only 0.83 percent of the votes in the elections, convincingly least at
HDZ
The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Cro ...
list. In the Parliament, she was a member of the Gender Equality Committee, and after
Andro Krstulović Opara
Andro Krstulović Opara () (born 22 May 1967) is a Croatian politician and art historian who served as Mayor of Split from 2017 to 2021.
Early life and education
Krstulović Opara was born on 22 May 1967 in Split where he finished elementary an ...
took the mayor's office in
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
, she took over the chairmanship of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Culture.
Personal life
Bedeković is married and has two daughters.
See also
*
Cabinet of Andrej Plenković I
The Fourteenth Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Četrnaesta Vlada Republike Hrvatske) was the Croatian Government cabinet formed on 19 October 2016, following the 2016 election. It was led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. The cabi ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedekovic, Vesna
1966 births
Living people
Government ministers of Croatia
Family ministers of Croatia
Youth ministers of Croatia
Croatian educators
Croatian educational theorists
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni
University of Osijek alumni
Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament
People from Bjelovar
Croatian women educators
Women academic administrators