Mario Kordić (born 28 June 1972) is a

Bosnian Croat The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats (), are native to Bosnia and Herzegovina and constitute the third most populous ethnic group, after Bosniaks and Serbs. They are also one of ...

politician and physician serving as the 34th mayor of Mostar since February 2021. He is 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 ...

. Born in

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

in 1972, Kordić 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 ...

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

. He worked as a practising physician for over twenty years. Following the 2020 municipal elections in Mostar, Kordić was elected mayor in the third round of the city council voting on 15 February 2021.

Early life and education

Kordić was born on 28 June 1972 in

, West Germany. He graduated with a MB degree from the

at the

in 1996. He earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in 2011, and his

doctorate 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 2019.

Medical career

Kordić specialized in

urology Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...

, and first started working at the

Clinical Hospital Dubrava Clinical Hospital Dubrava () is a public teaching hospital in Zagreb, Croatia. History Clinical Hospital Dubrava was originally planned and built for the needs of the Yugoslav People's Army to be a large military hospital with up to 800 beds. ...

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 ...

following his graduation. He started working at the University Clinical Hospital in

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

in 2003. Kordić was the director of the Mostar

Community health center A healthcare center, health center, or community health center is one of a network of clinics staffed by a group of general practitioners and nurses providing healthcare services to people in a certain area. Typical services covered are family pr ...

from 2016 until 2021.

Political career

The first local elections after a twelve-year intermission were held in

on 20 December 2020, after the

Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Ustavni sud Bosne i Hercegovine, Уставни суд Босне и Херцеговине) is the interpreter and guardian of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It ...

amended the election regulations relating to the city. The

(HDZ BiH) nominated Kordić as their mayoral candidate. The city council was constituted on 5 February 2021, and the first round of elections for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

was held, in which none of the candidates received the required majority. After the first round,

High Representative The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European U ...

Valentin Inzko Valentin Inzko (born 22 May 1949) is an Austrian diplomat who served as the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2009 to 2021. He also served as the European Union Special Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2009 to 2011 ...

sent a message to the councilors that the election in the first round was invalid due to the voting being held in public, which is contrary to the city's statute, which provides for secret voting. For this reason, on February 10, the first round of elections was repeated, which enabled new candidacies. Kordić with 14 votes and

Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action (; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, as a "party of Muslim cultural ...

member Zlatko Guzin with 12 went to the second round, while the other candidates were eliminated. With no clear majority in the second round, Kordić would ultimately get elected mayor in the third round on 15 February, earning 17 votes opposed to Guzin's 16. This marked the end of Kordić's fellow HDZ BiH member

Ljubo Bešlić Ljubo Bešlić (27 July 1958 – 3 September 2021) was a Bosnian Croat politician who served as the 33rd mayor of Mostar from 2004 to 2021. He was a member of the Croatian Democratic Union. Early life and career Bešlić was born on 27 July 195 ...

's seventeen-year mayorship.

Personal life

Kordić is married and has two children. He lives with his family in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kordic, Mario 1972 births Living people People from Ludwigshafen Politicians from Mostar University of Zagreb alumni Bosnia and Herzegovina physicians Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Mayors of Mostar