Zlatko Tomčić

Zlatko Tomčić
5th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament
In office 2 February 2000 – 22 December 2003
Preceded by	Vlatko Pavletić
Succeeded by	Vladimir Šeks
President of Croatia Acting
In office 2 February 2000 – 19 February 2000
Prime Minister	Ivica Račan
Preceded by	Vlatko Pavletić (Acting)
Succeeded by	Stjepan Mesić
President of the Croatian Peasant Party
In office 1994–2005
Deputy	Ljubica Lalić
Preceded by	Drago Stipac
Succeeded by	Josip Friščić
Member of Croatian Parliament from 2nd electoral district
In office 1995–2006
Succeeded by	Miroslav Čačija
Personal details
Born	10 July 1945 Zagreb, FS Croatia, DF Yugoslavia
Political party	Croatian Peasant Party

Zlatko Tomčić (Croatian pronunciation: [zlâtko tǒːmt͡ʃit͡ɕ]; born 1945) is a former Croatian politician, the leader of the Croatian Peasant Party (Hrvatska seljačka stranka—HSS) from 1994 to 2005. He served as the President of the Croatian Parliament, as a representative in the Parliament, and as acting President of Croatia for a brief period. He has graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Civil Engineering.^[1]

Tomčić became leader of the Croatian Peasant Party in 1994 while serving as a Minister of Construction and Environment in the Croatian Democratic Union-led cabinet of Nikica Valentić.^[2] Under his leadership, the Peasant Party led the coalition that came in second in the 1995 elections, winning 18 seats, of which 10 went to members of HSS, including Tomčić.

In the 2000 elections the HSS-led coalition came in third, winning 25 seats, of which 17 went to HSS. These parties joined with the election winners (SDP-HSLS coalition) to form the government, and Tomčić became the President of the Parliament (Predsjednik Sabora).^[3] He was instated on 2 February 2000.^[4]

As the speaker of parliament, Tomčić also briefly served as the acting President of Croatia, as the post was at the time vacant due to the death of President Franjo Tuđman in December 1999. He gave up the position to the newly elected president Stipe Mesić on 18 February 2000.

Tomčić remained President of the Parliament until December 2003, following new elections where the party lost seats and went into the opposition. Tomčić did, however, keep a seat in the Parliament.^[5]

In 2005, the HSS ten-member club in the Parliament split between a group supporting Tomčić and another one insisting on change in leadership. In the party election of December 2005, Tomčić was opposed by Josip Friščić and defeated.^[6] After defeat he gave up his parliament seat and left politics.

As of 2011, Tomčić is the CEO of a successful small architecture firm.^[7]

References

1. "Zlatko Tomčić". Hrvatski sabor. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
2. "Peta vlada" (in Croatian). Croatian Information-Documentation Referral Agency. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
3. "Zlatko Tomčić - HSS". Zastupnici 4. saziva (in Croatian). Croatian Parliament. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
4. Central Europe Review - Croatian News Review
5. "Zlatko Tomčić - HSS". Zastupnici 5. saziva (in Croatian). Croatian Parliament. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
6. http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/josip-friscic-novi-predsjednik-hssa/297015.aspx (Croatian)
7. Zlatko Tomčić: Poslovni procvat u doba krize Archived May 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.