Since its founding in 1989, elections within the

Croatian Democratic Union 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 Croa ...

were held numerous times.

2002 leadership election

The

controversial 2002 leadership election was held on 21 April 2002. Besides the incumbent party leader and former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, two other candidates were running:

Ivić Pašalić Ivić Pašalić (; born 3 November 1960) is a Croatian 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 ...

, former advisor of Croatian President Tuđman and

Maja Freundlich Maja can refer to: Places * Maja, Croatia, a village * Maja, Banten, a subdistrict in Lebak Regency, Banten, Indonesia ** Maja railway station * Maja, West Java, a subdistrict in Majalengka Regency, West Java, Indonesia * Maja River, a tributar ...

, journalist and vice-president of CDU. Ivo Sanader won the elections with 51 percent of the votes, Ivić Pašalić finished second with 47 percent of votes, and Maja Freundlich was last, with 2 percent.

2012 leadership election

The

2012 leadership election was held on 20 and 21 May 2012 after the party's defeat in the 2011 general election. Besides the incumbent party leader and former Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, four other candidates were running:

Milan Kujundžić Milan Kujundžić (; born 27 April 1957) is a Croatian physician and politician who served as Minister of Health in the Cabinet of Andrej Plenković between 2016 and 2020. Career Kujundžić was born in the village of Ivanbegovina near Imotsk ...

, former Minister of Health

Darko Milinović Darko Milinović (born 25 April 1963) is a Croatian politician and gynecologist who served as Minister of Health and Social Welfare from 2008 until 2011. Biography Milinović was born in Gospić. After graduating from the University of Zagreb ...

, former

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Tomislav Karamarko and former Deputy Prime Minister

Domagoj Ivan Milošević Domagoj is a Croatian name of Slavic origin derived from the Slavic elements ''dom'' ("home") and ''goj'' ("grow, breed, foster, nurture"). Notable people with the name include: *Domagoj of Croatia, a duke (knez) of Dalmatian Croatia in 864–87 ...

. Karamarko won in the second ballot with 971 delegate votes.Večernji
/ref>

Results

2016 leadership election

leadership elections are going to be held in April/May 2016. Beside the incumbent party leader and current Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Karamarko, two other candidates expressed intentions in running for president's position: Ivica Jurjević, president of HDZ Founders' Club "Dr. Franjo Tuđman" and Vinko Vukadin, media advisor of HDZ.

2020 leadership election

The 2020 HDZ leadership elections were held on 15 March 2020. The incumbent party leader and prime minister Andrej Plenković was challenged by

Miro Kovač Miro Kovač (born 20 September 1968) is a Croatian historian, diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the Cabinet of Tihomir Orešković from 22 January 2016 until 19 October 2016. He is member of th ...

, who was foreign minister in the

cabinet of Tihomir Orešković The Thirteenth Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Trinaesta Vlada Republike Hrvatske) was the Croatian Government cabinet led by Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković. It was the government cabinet of Croatia between 22 January until 19 Oc ...

between January and October 2016. Plenković was re-elected as party leader with almost 80% of the votes. Plenković ran on a moderate conservative and pro-European platform, while Kovač vowed to steer the party in a

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

nationalist direction. Thus, Plenković victory was also seen as a victory for HDZ's moderate wing.

References

Elections in Croatia Croatian Democratic Union Political party leadership elections {{Improve categories, date=March 2023