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Tihomir "Tim" Orešković (; born 1 January 1966) is a Croatian-Canadian businessman who was Prime Minister of Croatia from January to October 2016, before a
no-confidence vote A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...
filed by one of the two parties in the ruling coalition brought his government down. Born 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 ...
, Orešković emigrated to
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 ...
at a young age and spent most of his life there. He studied at
McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...
and graduated with a B.Sc. in chemistry in 1989 and an MBA in finance and information systems in 1991. Before taking office as prime minister, Orešković was CEO and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Croatian pharmaceutical giant Pliva, as head of European financial management for Israeli
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (also known as Teva Pharmaceuticals) is an Israeli multinational pharmaceutical company. Teva specializes primarily in generic drugs, but other business interests include branded-drugs, active pharmaceutical ...
, and as Chief Financial Officer for Teva's division of global generics. In the aftermath of a parliamentary election held on 8 November 2015 where no party secured enough seats necessary to form government, and the ensuing 76 days of negotiations, Orešković was named as a technocratic
non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...
compromise for the post of prime minister by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the coalition
Bridge of Independent Lists The Bridge (), previously known as Bridge of Independent Lists () until November 2020, is a political party in Croatia founded in 2012. The party is led by Božo Petrov, its founder and the former mayor of Metković, deputy prime minister and s ...
(Most) on 23 December 2015. He was formally named Prime Minister-designate on the same day by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. Orešković formed the 13th Croatian Government, made up of two deputy prime ministers and 20 ministers on 22 January 2016. As prime minister, Orešković introduced fiscal controls aimed at reducing public expenditures and lowering the public debt and deficit. However, his government was marked by tense relations between the two governing parties, with political maneuvering behind the scenes resulting in a government crisis in May 2016. Contrary to expectations that he would take direction from HDZ, the new prime minister went against HDZ recommendations on several occasions. With relations growing acrimonious, HDZ in turn rejected several proposals, including an amendment for reducing benefits of MPs, and the adoption of a new waste management plan. On 16 June 2016, the HDZ introduced a vote of no-confidence. With 125 MPs voting in favour, 15 voting against, and 2 abstaining, the no-confidence succeeded, the government was brought down and early
parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
were called for September. Although Orešković initially considered running for re-election as a candidate of Most, he returned to the private sector. On 19 October 2016, Orešković was succeeded by the new prime minister,
Andrej Plenković Andrej Plenković ( ; born 8 April 1970) is a Croatian politician serving as the Prime Minister of Croatia, prime minister of Croatia since October 2016. He was previously one of eleven List of members of the European Parliament for Croatia, 201 ...
from the HDZ.


Early life and education

Orešković was born in Zagreb on 1 January 1966 to Đurđa and Dane Orešković.His parents moved the family to
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
,
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 ...
, while he was still an infant. In 1989, he graduated from
McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...
with a degree in chemistry, and in 1991, he received his MBA in finance and information systems from the same university. Orešković is married to Sanja Orešković (née Dujmović), also from Zagreb, with whom he has two daughters and two sons.


Professional career

His professional career began in 1992, at American pharmaceutical company
Eli Lilly Eli Lilly (July 8, 1838 – June 6, 1898) was a Union Army officer, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded Eli Lilly and Company. Lilly enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and recruited a company of men to ...
where he held various functions in fields of finance and international business. His last position at the company was that of Director for relations with state administration and economic affairs. After leaving the company in August 2005, he continued his career at a Canadian pharmaceutical company Novopharm (now: Teva Canada), as VP of Business Development, Specialty Products and CFO. Orešković started working for Pliva in 2009 as CFO for Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, Israel, and Africa. Orešković holds dual Croatian and Canadian citizenship.


Political career

Orešković was contacted by the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) several months before the 2015 parliamentary elections with an offer to potentially take over a ministerial position in the new government in case of HDZ's win. Parliamentary elections were held on 8 November and were followed by eleven weeks of negotiations to select the next
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
. During this period, HDZ and
Bridge of Independent Lists The Bridge (), previously known as Bridge of Independent Lists () until November 2020, is a political party in Croatia founded in 2012. The party is led by Božo Petrov, its founder and the former mayor of Metković, deputy prime minister and s ...
(Most) were deadlocked, each party supporting their own candidate for the top position. Finally, on 23 December 2015, the parties agreed to name Orešković as the compromise candidate for prime minister. Later that day, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović handed Orešković the mandate to try and form a government within the following 30 days. Orešković, a self-described fiscal conservative and a
centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
, started forming his cabinet with the two parties in January. He named his cabinet on 21 January 2016 and received the vote of confidence from
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
on 22 January, the last day of the 30-day deadline.


Prime Minister

The 13th Government of Croatia was approved by votes of 83 MPs, while 61 voted against, and five abstained. Orešković's government had two Deputy Prime Ministers: Tomislav Karamarko, president of HDZ, who acted as the first deputy, and
Božo Petrov Božo Petrov (; born 16 October 1979) is a Croatian politician and psychiatrist who served as Speaker of the Croatian Parliament from 2016 to 2017. He has been the president of The Bridge party since 2012. He previously served as mayor of his n ...
, president of Most. As Croatia had just emerged from a six-year recession, the main challenges for the new government were cutting public debt, and increasing foreign investments. Orešković predicted his government would achieve GDP growth of 3%, and promised a massive reduction of the public debt, to below 80% of the GDP. Other ambitious goals included: i) bringing down the unemployment rate to 14%; ii) raising country's credit rating; iii) privatization of non-strategic assets; iv) rapid investments in the fields of tourism, as well as energy and infrastructure; v) taxation of unused properties; and vi) increased and more efficient use of EU funds. On 28 January 2016, Orešković government faced its first political challenge, brought about by the resignation of the Minister of Veterans Affairs Mijo Crnoja only six days into his term It took Orešković almost two months to name his replacement - Tomo Medved was appointed as minister on 21 March 2016. On 13 March, the Parliament adopted the 2016 budget which projected a deficit below 3%, GDP growth of 2%, and reduction of public debt from 86.9% to 86.8% of GDP. In mid-April, the IMF increased the 2016 GDP growth forecast for Croatia from 1% to 1.9%. In the first quarter of 2016, revenues to the budget increased for 3.7%, and expenditures decreased by 6.5%. GDP growth was 2.7%. On 22 April 2016, representatives of Jewish and Serb minorities, and an anti-fascist group boycotted the official commemoration for the victims of the
Jasenovac concentration camp Jasenovac () was a concentration camp, concentration and extermination camp established in the Jasenovac, Sisak-Moslavina County, village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia durin ...
, protesting what they claimed was government's inadequate reaction to events which were downplaying and revitalizing crimes of the Ustashe regime. In June, Orešković and Economy Minister Tomislav Panenić signed contracts for onshore
hydrocarbon exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology. Exploration methods ...
and exploitation with oil companies including INA and Vermilion Energy worth an estimated €88 million. Contingent on exploration of gas and oil fields in
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 ...
yielding positive results, the projected boost to the state budget was expected to be in the range of €600-€900 million annually. Orešković laso announced the first stage implementation of the Adria LNG terminal on Krk, the Križevci- Dugo Selo railway project worth €200 million, and the
Pelješac Bridge The Pelješac Bridge (, ) is a cable-stayed bridge in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia. The bridge provides a fixed link from the southeastern Croatian semi-exclave to the rest of the country while bypassing Bosnia and Herzegovina's short coast ...
worth €430 million. The government adopted a new public procurement bill which replaced the lowest price criterion with the economically most favourable offer. By the end of June 2016, public debt had decreased by 3.9 billion HRK compared to 2015 year end. Budget deficit fell by 5.1 billion HRK in the first six months of 2016, making up 0.7% of GDP. GDP growth reached 2.8% in the second quarter.


Government crisis

From the very beginning, Orešković's cabinet was plagued with tensions between the two governing parties, HDZ and Most, particularly over INA, Croatia's national oil company, and the
Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...
. Tensions culminated at the end of May 2016, during the conflict of interest affair labeled ''The Consultant Affair'' which revealed that Tomislav Karamarko's wife had business contacts with a consultant of the Hungarian oil company MOL which was a party in the arbitration processes with Croatia over INA. As a result, a vote of no confidence against Karamarko was initiated by the Parliamentary opposition, asking for Karamarko to step down, but he refused to do so. On 3 June 2016, in an attempt to find a solution to the growing crisis, Orešković called on both Karamarko and Petrov to resign their positions for the sake of stability of the country. Petrov was ready to do so, while Karamarko was not. After that, HDZ initiated a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister and started forming a new majority in the Parliament. Most continued to support Orešković and asked for Karamarko's resignation. On 15 June 2016, the ''Commission for Conflict of Interest'' determined that Karamarko had been in a conflict of interest in ''The Consultant Affair'' and Karamarko finally offered his resignation as deputy prime minister, while, at the same time, vowing to challenge the ruling at the
Constitutional court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
. The following day, the Parliament held another no-confidence vote which ended the Orešković government. 125 MPs voted in favor, 15 against, while two abstained. Both the HDZ and most of the opposition voted in favor, while Most MPs voted against. The fall of Orešković's government led to dissolution of Parliament's on 15 July 2016, and an early election in the second half of 2016. Orešković is the only prime minister in Croatia's modern history without a party affiliation while in office/. He is also the wealthiest person to have ever held the position, with a reported net worth of around US$3,2 million as of late February 2016. Having held office for a little under eight months, he was the shortest-serving Prime Minister of Croatia since
Hrvoje Šarinić Hrvoje Šarinić (; 17 February 1935 – 21 July 2017) was a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 1992 to 1993. Šarinić was born in Sušak and graduated from the University of Zagreb then-Faculty of Architecture, ...
in 1993 and his term was also the briefest since the replacement of a
semi-presidential system A semi-presidential republic, or dual executive republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliament ...
with an incomplete
parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...
in 2000. Orešković was the first, and to date only, Prime Minister to have been forced out of office by a parliamentary motion of no confidence.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oreskovic, Tihomir 1966 births Living people Businesspeople from Zagreb Politicians from Zagreb Croatian emigrants to Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada McMaster University alumni Canadian chief executives Prime ministers of Croatia