Ruža Tomašić (; born 10 May 1958) 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 ...

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 served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

from July 2013 to June 2021, having been elected to the position three times. Upon her withdrawal from the Parliament, she retired from politics altogether. After finishing elementary school at the age of 10, Tomašić moved to Canada where she finished high school and a police college. As a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

, she worked on the prevention of juvenile delinquency and combatting drug trafficking. After 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 ...

invited her to return to Croatia in 1990, Tomašić accepted and started working as a member of Tuđman's personal security. After beating

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

, she decided to leave police work and engage in politics. From 2003 to 2008 she was a member of the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

elected from the list of the

Croatian Party of Rights The Croatian Party of Rights (, HSP) is an Extra-parliamentary opposition, extra-parliamentary Croatian nationalism, nationalist and Neo-fascism, neo-fascist List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia. The word "right(s)" i ...

and from December 2011 to July 2013 as an MP for the Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starčević. At the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and 2014 EP elections, Tomašić won second most preference votes of all the candidates, and at the 2019 EP elections, most preference votes. On 17 January 2015 she joined the newly founded Croatian Conservative Party. In the European Parliament, Tomašić sits in the

European Conservatives and Reformists European Conservatives and Reformists may refer to: *European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), a soft Eurosceptic European political party *European Conservatives and Reformists Group The European Conservatives and Reformists ...

group. As of 2019, the European Parliament adopted 5 of her reports, 28 reports on which she worked as a shadow rapporteur, 573 of her amendments and 293 resolutions which, in addition to delivering more than 1000 speeches and sending 146 parliamentary questions to the EU Commission and the Council, made her the most active Croatian MEP.

Early life

Ruža Tomašić was born in the village of Mladoševica, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, and grew up with her parents, six sisters and a brother in the

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

n village of Velika Kopanica. At age 15, she left Croatia and joined her older sister in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, who was married and lived in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Tomašić worked on a variety of jobs to support herself before enrolling in 13-week program at Ontario Police College, from which she graduated in 1981. She then became a constable for the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the State police, provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. The OPP patrols Provincial highways in Ontario, provincial highways and waterways; protects Government of Ontario, provincial government buil ...

from 1984 to 1987, during which she became the first female constable to complete the motorcycle training course. In 1987, she relocated to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

after her marriage, where she continued to work as a constable. In her career as a police officer, she primarily dealt with

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...

and illegal drug trade, which included

undercover A cover in foreign, military or police human intelligence or counterintelligence is the ostensible identity and role or position in an infiltrated organization assumed by a covert agent during a covert operation. Official cover In espionage, a ...

work.

Return to Croatia

In September 1990, Tomašić moved to Croatia, by invitation from then-President

who met her during his state visit to Canada, and served as a

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

for top Croatian government officials. In 1992, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer, and chose to go back to

for medical treatment. After recovering completely from her illness in 1998 she decided to move to

again. In the meantime, Tomašić appeared in approximately 20 episodes of ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'' and ''

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

'' as a stuntwoman, drawing on her experience of riding a

police motorcycle A police motorcycle is a motorcycle used by police and law enforcement. They may be custom designed to meet the requirements unique of a particular use. Units that use motorcycles are often called motorcycle units or motor units, and police offi ...

in the mid-1980s.

Politics and activism

Tomašić was politically active in the Croatian Canadian community, and became a member of the nationalist

in 1990. After settling in Croatia with her family in 1998, she began a more earnest involvement in politics, became a vice-president of the Croatian Party of Rights, and entered the 2003 election in the top spot on her party's list in the 10th electoral unit, which brought her a seat in

Sabor The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor is composed of 151 members elected ...

. Her term ended in January 2008. In 2009 Tomašić left the Croatian Party of Rights over disagreements with its president

Anto Đapić Anto Đapić (born 22 August 1958) is a Croatian far right politician and the former president of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP). He served as a representative in the Croatian Parliament, a post he was elected to at the 1992, 1995, 2000, 2003 ...

. She accused Đapić of "betraying the party" and of using his position for personal gain. In September 2009 she was elected president of a new party, Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starčević. Known as an anti-drug activist, she reportedly received a number of death threats in 2006. In 2007 it was reported that

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

groups had been allegedly planning her assassination. By that time, she had started carrying a pistol for self-defense, and her family received police protection. In December 2010 Tomašić received the Order of Stjepan Radić in recognition of her efforts fighting organized crime. In March 2013, she made headlines after she was quoted saying "Croatia is for Croats while everyone else is a guest", a claim she disputed. On 3 November 2014 Tomašić left the Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starčević.

Member of European Parliament

In the European election of 14 April 2013, Tomašić was elected in the European Parliament, placing 6th in the candidates list 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). On 1 July 2013, after Croatia joined the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, she took office as

(MEP). Tomašić joined

European Conservatives and Reformists Group The European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR Group or simply ECR) is a Euroscepticism#Soft Euroscepticism, soft Eurosceptic, anti-European Federation, federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary ...

and became member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and Special Committee on Organised Crime, Corruption and Money Laundering. She was re-elected MEP following European election of 25 May 2014, serving her second term in office, placing 5th in the candidates list of HDZ.

Controversies

Commenting on the statement by Serbian Labour Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who said Croatia cannot give lessons to Serbia about war crimes after Croatia's Interior Minister Ranko Ostojić said that Serbia could improve its path to join the European Union by holding a trial for the murder of twelve Croatian police officers in Borovo Selo during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

, Tomašić stated: "Let them erbspray to God that we do not clean up our yard because if we start to clean our yard you will have a lot more Serbs from Croatia who will have to go to Serbia. They hold this state for their treasury and supermarket and give nothing to the state". Her statement was criticised by many, including the Committee on Human Rights and National Minorities of the

. Three days later, Tomašić wrote on her official Facebook page that she was referring to those Serbs who committed war crimes during the 1990s

and were never tried.

Personal life

Tomašić lives in

Brna Brna is a village on the southern coast of the island of Korčula in western 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 S ...

, on the island of

Korčula Korčula () is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The populat ...

, which is the birthplace of her husband Vlado, whom she married in 1987. They have two children. She is a practising

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and declares her adherence to traditional Christian values.

References

External links

YouTube channel of Ruža Tomašić

Ruža Tomašić's Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomasic, Ruza 1958 births Living people Canadian police officers Canadian people of Croatian descent 20th-century Croatian women politicians 20th-century Croatian politicians 21st-century Croatian women politicians Croatian Party of Rights politicians Croatian expatriates in Canada Croat politicians from Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starčević MEPs Croatian Party of Rights Dr. Ante Starčević politicians Croatian Conservative Party MEPs Croatian nationalists Anti-Serbian sentiment Women MEPs for Croatia Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament MEPs for Croatia 2013–2014 MEPs for Croatia 2014–2019 MEPs for Croatia 2019–2024 Anti-crime activists Croatian police officers People from Maglaj