Ivo Josipović facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ivo Josipović
Josipović in 2011
President of Croatia
In office 19 February 2010 – 18 February 2015
Prime Minister	Jadranka Kosor Zoran Milanović
Preceded by	Stjepan Mesić
Succeeded by	Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Member of Parliament
In office 22 December 2003 – 18 February 2010
Constituency	I electoral district
President of the Forward Croatia-Progressive Alliance
In office 31 May 2015 – 11 April 2019
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1957-08-28) 28 August 1957 (age 67) Zagreb, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
Political party	Social Democratic Party (1990–1994, 2008–2010, 2019–present)
Other political affiliations	League of Communists of Yugoslavia (1980–1990) Forward Croatia-Progressive Alliance (2015–2019)
Spouse	Tatjana Klepac ​ (m. 1990)​
Children	1
Alma mater	University of Zagreb
Profession	Lawyer composer
Signature

Ivo Josipović (born August 28, 1957) is a Croatian academic, lawyer, composer, and politician. He served as the third president of Croatia from 2010 to 2015.

Josipović first entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. He helped change the League of Communists of Croatia into the Social Democratic Party (SDP) by writing its first rules. He left politics in 1994 but returned in 2003. He won a seat in the Croatian Parliament as an independent candidate on the SDP list. He was re-elected to parliament as an SDP member in 2007.

Besides politics, Josipović has worked as a university professor, legal expert, musician, and composer. He has a PhD in Law and advanced degrees in music composition.

After his first term in Parliament ended in 2008, he ran in the 2009–10 Croatian presidential election. He was the candidate for the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP), which he had rejoined in 2008. In the first round, he won 32.4% of the votes, more than eleven other candidates. He then went to a second round against Milan Bandić, an independent candidate. Josipović won the election with 60.26% of the votes in the second round.

His campaign was called "Nova pravednost" (New Justice). It aimed to create new laws to fix social unfairness, corruption, and organized crime. This included protecting individual rights and promoting important values like equality, human rights, justice, hard work, caring for others, and creativity. Josipović became president on February 18, 2010, in Zagreb. His term officially started on February 19.

Josipović tried to be re-elected in the 2014–15 Croatian presidential election. He was supported by a group of parties called the Kukuriku coalition, led by the SDP. In the first round, Josipović won 38.46% of the votes, just ahead of Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. They went to a second round on January 11, 2015. Josipović lost by a small number of votes, getting 49.3% compared to Grabar-Kitarović's 50.7%. He was the first President of Croatia not to be re-elected for a second term.

About Ivo Josipović

Josipović's parents were from Baška Voda, a small town in Dalmatia. They moved to Zagreb, the capital, in 1956, a year before he was born. As a high school student, Josipović went to both the V. Gymnasium and a music school in Zagreb from 1972 to 1976. When he was a teenager, he was a good football player.

He is married to Tatjana, who is a civil law professor and legal expert. They have one daughter named Lana, born around 1991. Besides his native Croatian, he speaks English very well and understands some German.

His Work in Law

Josipović studied at the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb. He finished his law studies and passed his bar exam in 1980. He earned his master's degree in criminal law in 1985 and his PhD in criminal sciences in 1994.

He started teaching at the same law faculty in 1984. He later became a professor for criminal procedure law, international criminal law, and minor offense law. Josipović has been a visiting researcher at important places like the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Germany and Yale University in the United States.

He has written over 85 academic papers. In 1994, he helped start the Hrvatski pravni centar (Croatian Law Center). Josipović also helped save 180 Croatian prisoners of war from Serbian detention centers. He has represented Croatia in international courts like the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He also worked as an expert for the Council of Europe, helping to check prisons in countries like Ukraine.

His Work in Music

After finishing music high school, he studied composition at the Zagreb Music Academy. He graduated in 1983. From 1987 to 2004, Josipović also taught at the Zagreb Music Academy.

Josipović has composed about 50 chamber music pieces for different instruments and orchestras. In 1985, he won an award from the European Broadcasting Union for his piece "Samba da Camera." He won the Porin award for the same piece in 1999, and another Porin award in 2000 for his piece "Tisuću lotosa" (A Thousand Lotuses). Other well-known pieces include "Igra staklenih perli" (The Glass Bead Game) and "Tuba Ludens." Many musicians in Croatia and other countries perform his music. Since 1991, Josipović has also been the director of the Music Biennale Zagreb (MBZ), an international festival for modern classical music.

During his 2010 election campaign, Josipović said he would compose an opera about the murder of John Lennon. On April 22, 2023, his opera, Lennon, premiered in Croatia's National Theatre. It is about the last days of John Lennon and his killer.

His Work in Film

Josipović was interviewed in Boris Malagurski's documentary film The Weight of Chains 2 (2014). He also lent his voice to the third Toy Story movie and a short animated film called Night and Day. At the start of the film, Josipović says in Croatian, "Best things in life are unknown, turn to new things."

When opening the Pula Film Festival in 2014, President Josipović encouraged the audience to enjoy movies and art. He said that filmmakers are like magicians who use talent and love for art to create something special.

His Political Career

Victory speech of Josipović, January 10, 2010

In 1980, Josipović joined the League of Communists of Croatia (SKH). He was very important in changing this party into the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) by writing its first rules. In 1994, he left politics and the SDP to focus on law and music.

In 2003, Ivica Račan, who was the prime minister at the time, invited him back to politics. Josipović became an independent Member of Parliament (MP) with the SDP and a vice-president of the SDP group in the Croatian Parliament. In 2005, he also served in the Assembly of the City of Zagreb. In 2007, he was re-elected to the Croatian Parliament. He officially rejoined the SDP in 2008. On July 12, 2009, he was chosen as the party's official candidate for president. As an MP, he worked on different parliamentary committees dealing with laws, justice, and the constitution.

Presidential Election 2010

After serving two terms, the president at the time, Stjepan Mesić, could not run again in the 2009 presidential election. On June 20, 2009, Josipović was nominated as one of the SDP's candidates. He won against Ljubo Jurčić in a primary election on July 12, becoming the party's official candidate.

Josipović's campaign slogan was 'Justice for Croatia'. He started his campaign with a big event in front of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. He criticized the government and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor for not helping ordinary people and for not dealing with corruption.

On December 27, 2009, Josipović won the first round of the presidential election with 32.42% of the votes. He then faced Milan Bandić, who was an independent candidate, in the second round on January 10, 2010. On January 10, 2010, Josipović was elected as the third president of Croatia with 60.26% of the votes, beating Bandić.

President of Croatia

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev with Josipović in 2010

Polish president Lech Kaczyński with Josipović in 2010

Josipović with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, D.C., May 3, 2011

Bosnian Presidency member Dragan Čović with Josipović in 2014

In April 2010, Josipović met with religious leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They visited places where bad things happened during the war, like Ahmići massacre and Križančevo selo killings, to show respect for the victims. Josipović visited Bosnia and Herzegovina and said he was "deeply sorry" for Croatia's part in trying to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s. This led to a war and suffering for many people. Some politicians in Croatia criticized this apology.

Josipović chose some advisors who caused small issues. His first choice for agriculture advisor was dismissed quickly because of unpaid taxes. Another advisor, a former journalist, left after writing a column that insulted people.

In May 2010, Josipović met with leaders from Republika Srpska and a Bosniak leader. He visited the site of the Sijekovac killings to honor the victims. This visit caused some discussion in Croatia. In February 2012, during a visit to Israel, Josipović apologized for terrible acts committed against Jews by the Croatian Ustaše regime in the 1940s. Some people in Croatia questioned this apology because a previous president had already apologized. Josipović also said he was the "son of Tito's partisan."

In May 2014, during a speech at the Jasenovac concentration camp memorial, Josipović described the crimes there as genocide. He said that most Croatian people fought against the Ustasha policies during World War II. He urged everyone to remember that hatred and intolerance are still present today, so that such crimes never happen again. He stressed that "unity and determination" are the only true power against new acts like those in Auschwitz, Jasenovac, Ovčara, and Srebrenica.

Public Opinion

Ivo Josipović's approval ratings since taking office (conducted by IpsosPuls).

In 2010, Josipović was very popular, with an average approval rating of 81%. This was higher than the previous president, Mesić. His ratings reached 84% in some months of 2010 and 2011, making him one of the most popular Croatian politicians in 20 years. However, his popularity dropped a bit in the first half of 2012, from over 80% to around 68.8%. Despite this, he remained the most popular active politician in Croatia.

Presidential Election 2015

President Josipović announced he would try to be re-elected in the 2014–15 Croatian presidential election. His plan for the election focused on changing the constitution and giving more power to local areas in Croatia.

The first round of elections was on December 28, 2014. Josipović was slightly ahead of his main challenger, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. Josipović received 38.46% of the votes, which was about 22,000 more votes than Grabar-Kitarović's 37.22%. Neither candidate won more than 50% of the votes, so they went to a second round.

The second round was on January 11, 2015. At first, exit polls predicted Grabar-Kitarović would win. However, as official results came in, Josipović initially led, but Grabar-Kitarović then took the lead and won by a small difference of about 32,509 votes. Josipović accepted his defeat, and Grabar-Kitarović became the first female president-elect of Croatia. His term officially ended on February 19, 2015.

After losing the election, Josipović started a new political party called Forward Croatia-Progressive Alliance. He said he planned to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections in November 2015. Josipović also chose not to have his own office and staff, even though he was allowed to have them for five years after being president.

Parliamentary Elections

2015 Election

Josipović's Forward Croatia-Progressive Alliance formed a group with the People's Party - Reformists. Josipović was a candidate in his local area, but his group only won a small percentage of the votes.

2020 Election

Josipović was a candidate in the 2020 election as part of the Restart Coalition. He did not win a seat because he did not get enough votes to meet the required threshold.

Honours and Awards

Award or decoration		Country	Date	Place
	Order of Danica Hrvatska for Culture	Croatia	1999
	Order of the White Rose of Finland	Finland	2011
	Order of St. Olav	Norway	May 12, 2011	Zagreb
	Order of Merit of the Italian Republic	Italy	July 6, 2011	Zagreb
	Order of the Three Stars	Latvia	April 2, 2012	Zagreb
	Order of the Seraphim	Sweden	April 16, 2013	Zagreb
	Order of the Polar Star	Sweden	April 16, 2013	Zagreb
	Order of the White Eagle	Poland	May 11, 2013	Zagreb
	Order of the Elephant	Denmark	October 21, 2014	Zagreb

Images for kids

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  Josipović in 2011

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  Josipović's signature

See also

In Spanish: Ivo Josipović para niños