Zdravko Marić (; born 3 February 1977) is a Croatian economist and politician who served as the
Minister of Finance
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
from 2016 and a
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
from 2019, until his resignation from both positions in 2022. He was the first
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., ...
holder of the office in Croatia's post-
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
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 ...
.
Early life and education
Zdravko Marić was born on 3 February 1977 in
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 is the 7th lar ...
. After finishing elementary and high school in his hometown, he enrolled in Zagreb Faculty of Economics and Business from which he graduated finances in 2000. He obtained his master's degree in
operational research
Operations research () (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a branch of applied mathematics that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve management and ...
in 2004 with thesis ''Analysis of Capital Flows in Transition Countries Through the Impact on Investment''. In 2007, Marić attended the executive education program in Management at Young Global Leaders School of
Klaus Schwab
Klaus Martin Schwab (; born 30 March 1938) is a German mechanical engineer, economist, and founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He acted as the WEF's chairman since founding the organisation from 1971 until 2025 when he was replaced by P ...
at the
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. Marić earned his Ph.D. in 2008 from the Zagreb Faculty of Economics and Business with thesis ''The Impact of Foreign Direct Investments on the Productivity of Croatian Companies''.
Career
Zdravko Marić gained his first working experience as an assistant at the Zagreb Institute of Economics where he worked from 2001 to 2006 on a number of scientific and commercial projects. During this period, he also worked as occasional lecturer at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management and the International Graduate Business School Zagreb. In 2006, he became Assistant for Macroeconomic Analysis and Planning to finance minister
Ivan Šuker
Ivan Šuker (; 12 November 1957 – 5 September 2023) was a Croatian politician and economist. He served as Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2010, as a member of the Croatian Democratic Union.HDZ). His main responsibility was to bring macroeconomic forecasting and work on the state budget, as well as direct cooperation with the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
in the field of economic dialogue. In 2008, Marić was promoted to the position of state secretary which gave him additional responsibilities, including the overall state budget, the financial system and cooperation with international financial institutions (
IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of la ...
EBRD
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...
Slavko Linić
Slavko Linić (born 19 September 1949) is a Croatian politician and economist. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Economics on the University of Rijeka. From 1990 to 2000, he was the Mayor of Rijeka
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( fjuːme in Italian ...
from the SDP was appointed finance minister, and although he offered Marić the opportunity to stay on as state secretary, Marić refused and got a job in the largest Croatian retail joint-stock company Agrokor where he worked as Executive Director for Strategy and Capital. His responsibilities were international finances, relations with investors and
mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
. When HDZ managed to form
coalition Government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
with
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) after the 2015 parliamentary election, Marić was appointed Minister of Finance instead of Ivan Šuker whose appointment was opposed by MOST, although MOST initially opposed Marić's appointment as well. According to a poll conducted in April 2016 by IPSOS Puls for Nova TV, Marić was considered the second most popular member of the Government after Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković.
On 10 June 2016 in light of the government crisis caused by a call for a
motion of no confidence
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 fi ...
against First Deputy Prime Minister
Tomislav Karamarko
Tomislav Karamarko (; born 25 May 1959) is a Croatian politician who served as First Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia from January to June 2016. He served in the Cabinet of Jadranka Kosor as Minister of the Interior from 2008 to 2011.
Early li ...
due to his conflict of interest in an affair involving his wife Ana Šarić and Josip Petrović, special adviser and lobbyist of the
MOL Group
MOL Plc. (), also known as MOL Group, is a Hungarian Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. Members of MOL Group include among others the Croatian and Slovak former ...
, a Hungarian oil corporation that gained control of Croatia's national oil company INA through a corruption scandal, and the ensuing calls for Prime Minister Orešković to resign, HDZ planned to nominate Marić as their candidate for Prime Minister to replace Orešković. However, since it was clear that Marić would not get the support of a majority of MPs, the idea was abandoned, which led to the dissolution 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. ...
and new elections.
Following the 2016 extraordinary parliamentary election and the creation of Andrea Plenkovič' cabinet, Marić continued to serve as Minister of Finance. On 20 April 2017, 46 MPs from the SDP, HNS, HSS, HSU, ŽZ and SNAGA backed by the 15 MPs from MOST, submitted a proposal for a motion of no confidence against Marić after the Committee on Conflict of Interest concluded that Marić, who served as an Executive Director for Strategy and Capital in Agrokor prior to taking office as a minister, participated in the Government session held on 10 April 2017 where the Government was deciding on the proposal for appointing the extraordinary manager in the Agrokor by which Marić violated provisions of the Law on Prevention of Conflicts of Interest which stipulates that a state official has to exempt himself from all proceedings which could directly or indirectly affect a company in which he worked prior to taking office. In addition, MPs stated that Marić, at a time when Agrokor's financial statements were tampered with, had the task of presenting those statements to third parties and their active usage in order to secure Agrokor's stable financing, as well as that Marić, upon taking office as finance minister, postponed regulations that might reveal the existence of a crisis in Agrokor.Note:In January 2017,
Moody's
Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its histo ...
lowered Agrokor's rating from B2 to B3 and in the same time increased the possibility of companies' bankruptcy, and later lowered Agrokor's rating four more times by June. Agrokor's bonds started losing value. In February 2017, Moody's reduced the prospects for Agrokor's rating from stable to negative. In April 2017, the government passed an emergency law, nicknamed Lex Agrokor, that allowed the state to appoint an executive with a special crisis management team to steer a restructuring of companies in financial troubles with more than 5,000 employees. On 7 April, Agrokor's management filed a request for the activation of Lex Agrokor after which the Government appointed Ivica Ramljak as Agrokor's extraordinary manager. He started negotiating with banks and suppliers in order to rescue the company from bankruptcy. On 9 October, Ramljak announced a consolidated report which reduced Agrokor's value for 21 billion HRK, revealing that he filed a criminal charges against Todorić and his associates for tempering companies' financial statements. Afterwards,
USKOK
The Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (), better known as USKOK, is a body of the Croatian criminal justice system, attached to the State's Attorney Office and specializing in investigations related to corruption and ...
launched a criminal prosecution against 13 members of the governing and supervisory boards Agrokor's including the owner
Ivica Todorić
Ivica Todorić (; born 2 January 1951) is a Croatian businessman. Until June 2017, he was the owner and chairman of the board of Agrokor, the largest privately owned company in Croatia. The operations of Agrokor are focused on two core businesse ...
himself. On 4 May 2017, the Parliament voted against him failed in a tie vote, so Marić remained in office. Following the vote, Speaker
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 ...
stated that the vote showed that the HDZ no longer had a majority in the parliament and that the only right thing to do would be to call new election. However, Petrov resigned his position citing "moral obligation", MOST left the Government and moved to the opposition, and HNS started supporting the government.
Other activities
*
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...
(EBRD), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2019–2022)
*
European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...
(EIB), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2019–2022)
* Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2019–20229
*
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is an international financial institution which offers political risk insurance and credit enhancement guarantees. These guarantees help investors protect foreign direct investments against ...
(MIGA),
World Bank Group
The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...
, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2019–2022)
*
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
, Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (2019–2022)Board of Governors
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
.
Personal life
Marić is married and has two children. He speaks Croatian, English, and Italian fluently.