Ranko Ostojić (; born 3 October 1962) is a Croatian lawyer and

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

politician who served as the 11th

Interior Minister 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, emergenc ...

in the

Cabinet of Zoran Milanović The Twelfth Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Dvanaesta Vlada Republike Hrvatske) was the Croatian Government cabinet led by Prime Minister Zoran Milanović. It was in office from 23 December 2011 until 22 January 2016. It was formed f ...

from December 2011 to January 2016. Ostojić graduated from the Split Faculty of Law in 1988. He held various positions in Split-based companies, and became involved in politics in 1990 when he joined SDP. Between 2001 and 2004 he served as assistant to Interior Minister

Šime Lučin Šime () is a masculine Croatian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Šime Budinić (1535–1600), a 16th-century Catholic priest and writer from Zadar, Venetian Dalmatia (today Croatia) *Šime Ljubić (1822–1896), Croatian histor ...

during Prime Minister

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 ...

's government and held the post of Director of Police. Before becoming government minister he served one term as MP in the 6th Sabor from 2007 to 2011 where he chaired the parliamentary committee for internal affairs and national security. During this time he also ran for mayor of Split in the 2009 local elections but finished runner-up with 34.7 percent of the vote, behind independent Željko Kerum. In 2008, he was a member of the SDP delegation which visited Bleiburg. The final months of Ostojić's term as

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 ...

was marked by the

2015 European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to request ...

, causing an inflow of over 39,000 migrants into Croatia from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

by 22 September 2015, after the construction of the border fence on the Serbia-Hungary border. Many migrants fled the Syrian Civil War, as well as poor economic conditions in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

, with

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

serving mainly as a transit country towards

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. The villages of

Tovarnik Tovarnik (, sr-Cyrl, Товарник, hu, Felsőtárnok, german: Sankt Georg, la, Ulmo) is a municipality in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in Croatia next to the border with Serbia with the town of Šid and the village of Ilinci on the other s ...

, Ilača and Opatovac, as well as the city of Beli Manastir served as the main acceptance centers for migrants in

eastern Croatia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranj ...

, while 1,200 were also housed at

Zagreb Fair Zagreb Fair ( hr, Zagrebački velesajam) is a complex of exhibition pavilions in Zagreb, Croatia. The company which operates the venue carries the same name. The Zagreb Fair is the main venue in Zagreb for trade shows and fairs. Every year more t ...

. By 22 September 2015 over 32,000 migrants had left Croatia through the neighbouring countries of the

Schengen area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and ...

. A larger and permanent migrant center was set up in the city of

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostojic, Ranko 1962 births Living people Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament Social Democratic Party of Croatia politicians Interior ministers of Croatia Politicians from Split, Croatia University of Split alumni Croatian lawyers