Ivan Šimonović (; born 2 May 1959) is a

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 ...

n diplomat, politician and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

scholar. In October 2008 he was appointed

Justice Minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

of Croatia. On 3 May 2010, Šimonović was appointed UN Assistant Secretary-General for

Human Rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. As of 1 October 2016, Šimonović has been appointed as the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect.

Education and career

Šimonović graduated from the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

Law School in 1982. He obtained a

doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1990, at the age of 31. Šimonović joined the Croatian diplomatic corps after the break-up of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. He was an assistant and deputy to Foreign Minister Mate Granić during the 1990s, although he never joined the ruling party, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). In 1997, Croatian 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 ...

named him ambassador to the United Nations. Šimonović served there until 2002. While serving there, Šimonović presided over the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

. In 2002, Šimonovic was named Deputy Foreign Minister in

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 government. He remained independent and did not join the ruling SDP. When the HDZ swung back to power in 2003, Šimonović was not offered a job in the new government. Šimonović was appointed Minister of Justice-designate of Croatia by PM Ivo Sanader on 6 October 2008. His predecessor, Ana Lovrin, had resigned the same day following a series of unsolved assaults and murders linked to Croatian organized crime that culminated with the murder of Ivana Hodak, daughter of controversial Croatian lawyer Zvonimir Hodak. However, it turned out that she was killed by a homeless man, in some apparent act of retaliation against her father. In May 2010 Šimonović was appointed by the

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

as the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights. In October 2016, Šimonović has been appointed as the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. In 2019 he was reappointed Croatian Ambassador to the UN. In 2023 he serves as Chair of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.

Academic Career

Since September 1986, Šimonović has been employed at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb. He was head of the Department of Legal Theory, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law in Zagreb and Vice-Rector of the

. Before, he worked at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Zagreb. In 2004, he became a professor at the University of Zagreb Law School, where he teaches general theory of law and state, human rights and atrocity crime prevention, and international relations. He has been a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Law in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

and at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Law School in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Awards

Šimonović was awarded the Officer of the Legion of Honour of the French Republic.

References

External links

Personal data
at

OHCHR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

portal {{DEFAULTSORT:Simonovic, Ivan 1959 births Living people Members of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance Politicians from Zagreb Croatian diplomats Croatian educators Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb alumni Croatian officials of the United Nations Academic staff of the University of Zagreb Permanent representatives of Croatia to the United Nations Justice ministers of Croatia