Goran Granić (born 18 April 1950) is a former

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who was the

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

from 2000 to 2002. Granić was born in

Baška Voda Baška Voda () is a village and a municipality in Croatia in the Split-Dalmatia County. It is located on the Adriatic coastline of Dalmatia, northwest of Makarska. Population In the 2011 census, it had a total population of 2,775, in the foll ...

. He graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Zagreb in 1972, obtaining a PhD from the same faculty in 1979. From 1973 to 1978 he worked as a researcher at the Energy Institute in Zagreb. After the first democratic elections in 1990, Granić became the first director of

Hrvatska elektroprivreda Hrvatska elektroprivreda (HEP Group) is a national power company in Croatia which has been engaged in Electricity generation, electricity production, Electric power transmission, transmission and Electricity distribution, distribution for more th ...

, the national power company of Croatia. From 1992 to 1995, Granić served as a member of the Croatian Parliament. From 1995 to 1996, Granić was selected as mayor of

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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

by his party that won the local elections. However, the president,

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...

did not allow him to proceed with his duties as mayor, leading to the Zagreb Crisis: Zagreb's local government would go on to place four other mayors from the party, each of which was blocked by Tuđman. As a member of the HSLS party, which was allied with SDP during the 2000 parliament elections, Granić entered the newly formed government as

Ivica Račan Ivica Račan (; 24 February 1944 – 29 April 2007) was a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2000 to 2003, heading two centre-left coalition governments. Račan became the first prime minister of Croatia not to be a ...

's deputy prime minister. He was much praised by his superior, Račan, during his term in office. However, HSLS's leader,

Dražen Budiša Dražen Budiša (born 25 July 1948) is a Croatian politician who used to be a leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate. As president of the Croatian Social Liberal Party through the 1990s he remains to date the ...

(having failed in the

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

) suddenly wanted the position of prime minister and forced Račan – since his party's parliament votes were vital to the government – to dismiss Granić and place him instead. Despite his new position, Budiša wasn't satisfied and suddenly led his party out of the government. As a result, HSLS split into two factions. The dissident pro-government faction – including Granić and

Jozo Radoš Jozo Radoš (; born 3 November 1956) is a Croatian liberal politician currently serving as one out of 11 Croatian members of the European Parliament. He previously served as a Minister of Defence, member of the Croatian Parliament and as an ob ...

as more prominent members – created a new party – ''Liberals of Croatia – Libra''. Libra merged with the Croatian People's Party in 2005, since known as the

Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats The Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats ( or HNS) is a social- liberal political party in Croatia. In the 11th Sabor, since 2024, a single HNS representative forms a parliamentary club together with two independent representatives. HN ...

, but Granić himself has mostly shunned politics after his government position, having returned to the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar in 2003. He is a brother of Mate Granić, once a prominent member of the rival

Croatian Democratic Union The Croatian Democratic Union (, , HDZ) is a major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. Since 2016, it has been the ruling political party in Croatia under the incumbent Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. It is one of the ...

(HDZ).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granic, Goran 1950 births Living people Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament Croatian Social Liberal Party politicians Deputy prime ministers of Croatia