Marina Pendeš (born 20 August 1964) is a Bosnian Croat politician serving as member of the national House of Peoples since 2019. She served as

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

from 2015 to 2019 and Deputy Minister of Defence from 2004 to 2015. Previously, she was a member of the

Central Bosnia Canton The Central Bosnia Canton (, ) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most populous settlement in the region is Bugojno, followed by Travnik and Novi Travnik. Geography It is in th ...

Assembly and later Government from 2002 to 2004. Pendeš is a member of the

Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (, HDZ BiH) is a Christian democracy, Christian democratic Croatian nationalism, Croatian nationalist List of political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina, political party in Bosnia and He ...

, currently also a member of the Presidency and Main Board of the party.

Early life and education

Pendeš was born in

Travnik Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

on 20 August 1964. She attended elementary school in

Vitez Vitez ( sr-cyrl, Витез) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 6,329 inhab ...

and gymnasium in Travnik. She became a member of the

League of Communists of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats ...

in 1987. Pendeš graduated in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the Military Technical Academy "Ivan Gošnjak" 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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

in 1988, after receiving a scholarship from the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

Career

Pendeš was an independent constructor in the military industry in Travnik from 1988 until 1992. She was a member of the

Croatian Defence Council The Croatian Defence Council (, HVO) was the armed wing of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, a breakaway entity unrecognised by the international community and accused of ethnic-based violence during the conflict. It exis ...

and worked in the Military Intelligence Service in Central Bosnia during the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

. After the war, she became a member of the

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 BiH) and head of the department of the "Hrvatski telekom" in

until 2003. Pendeš was elected a member of the City Assembly of Vitez in the 1997 municipal election. She was elected to the Assembly of the Central Bosnia Canton at the 2002 election, and served as Minister of Physical Planning, Restructuring and Return of the Canton from 2003 to 2004. She was the Deputy

from 2004 to 2015 before being appointed Minister of Defence on 31 March 2015. Pendeš was later delegated to the national House of Peoples after the 2018 election, again being delegated after the 2022 election.

Charges

In July 2015, Pendeš was charged by the State Prosecutor's Office for paying a salary to her advisor Ivo Miro Jović while she was Deputy Minister, despite him not showing up to work. In February 2016, she was acquitted by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina of the charges of careless performance of official duties and forging documents.

References

External links

Minister of Defence profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pendes, Marina Living people 1964 births People from Travnik Bosnia and Herzegovina women in politics 21st-century women politicians Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Female defence ministers Government ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Defence ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian Defence Council Members of the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina