Jadranka Kosor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jadranka Kosor
Kosor in 2010
Prime Minister of Croatia
In office 6 July 2009 – 23 December 2011
President	Stjepan Mesić Ivo Josipović
Deputy	Slobodan Uzelac Božidar Pankretić Darko Milinović Domagoj Ivan Milošević Petar Čobanković Gordan Jandroković
Preceded by	Ivo Sanader
Succeeded by	Zoran Milanović
Minister of Family, Veterans' Affairs and Intergenerational Solidarity
In office 23 December 2003 – 6 July 2009
Prime Minister	Ivo Sanader
Preceded by	Ivica Pančić
Succeeded by	Tomislav Ivić
Further offices held Leader of the Opposition In office 23 December 2011 – 21 May 2012 Prime Minister Zoran Milanović Preceded by Zoran Milanović Succeeded by Tomislav Karamarko President of the Croatian Democratic Union In office 4 July 2009 – 21 May 2012 Deputy Darko Milinović Preceded by Ivo Sanader Succeeded by Tomislav Karamarko Member of Parliament In office 23 December 2011 – 28 December 2015 Constituency V electoral district In office 2 February 2000 – 22 December 2003 Constituency V electoral district In office 28 November 1995 – 2 February 2000 Preceded by Branko Mikša Succeeded by District abolished Constituency XXVI electoral district
Personal details
Born	(1953-07-01) 1 July 1953 (age 71) Lipik, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
Political party	Independent (2013–2015; 2015–present)
Other political affiliations	SKH (until 1990) HDZ (1995–2013) Successful Croatia (2015)
Spouses	Hrvoje Markulj ​ ​ (m. 1977; div. 1981)​ Ivo Škopljanac ​ ​ (m. 1984; div. 1993)​
Children	1
Parents	Mirko Kosor Zorica Belan
Alma mater	University of Zagreb
Signature

Jadranka Kosor (born 1 July 1953) is a Croatian politician and former journalist. She served as the Prime Minister of Croatia from 2009 to 2011. She became Prime Minister after Ivo Sanader suddenly resigned. Kosor was the first, and so far only, woman to become Prime Minister of Croatia since the country became independent.

Before her political career, Kosor worked as a journalist after studying law. During the Croatian War of Independence, she hosted a radio show. This show focused on helping refugees and disabled war veterans. In 1989, she joined a political party called the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). She quickly became an important member of the party. In 1995, she was elected to the Croatian Parliament for the first time.

After her time as Prime Minister, Kosor continued to be active in politics. She worked to fight against corruption and helped Croatia join the European Union.

Early Life and Journalism

Jadranka Kosor was born in Lipik. Her parents divorced when she was two years old. She grew up living with her grandmother. Friends from her childhood remember her as a smart and friendly girl who loved poetry.

She studied law in Zagreb. In 1972, she started working as a journalist for Večernji list and Radio Zagreb. In 1971, she published a book of her poems called Koraci. During the Croatian War of Independence, she worked as a radio-journalist. Her show talked about war issues, like problems faced by refugees and disabled war veterans. She also worked for the BBC for a short time.

Political Career

Kosor with German Chancellor Angela Merkel

In 1995, Jadranka Kosor became a representative in the Croatian Parliament. She was a member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party. She also served as the vice-president of the Croatian Parliament. From 1999 to 2000, she led the HDZ's Women's Association. She helped double the number of female candidates from the HDZ in the 2000 elections.

Kosor was the vice-president of the HDZ party from 1995 to 1997, and again from 2002 to 2009. In 2003, she became a minister in the Croatian government. She was in charge of the department for Family, Veterans, and Inter-generational Solidarity.

The HDZ chose her as their candidate for the presidential election in 2005. She came in second place in the first round. In the second round, she ran against Stipe Mesić, but she lost the election. In July 2009, she became the leader of the Croatian Democratic Union party. This happened after Ivo Sanader resigned.

Prime Minister of Croatia

On 1 July 2009, the Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader suddenly resigned. He suggested Jadranka Kosor as the next Prime Minister. With support from other political parties, Kosor was asked to form a new government. On 6 July, the Croatian Parliament approved her government. This made Kosor the first female Prime Minister of Croatia since the country became independent.

Domestic Policies

Kosor with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in May 2010

Kosor with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov at an EPP meeting in Meise, September 2010

When Kosor first became Prime Minister, Croatia faced big money problems. There was a large deficit (meaning the government spent more than it earned) and many people were unemployed. She quickly introduced a new budget to reduce spending and the national debt. One of her most unpopular decisions was a new income tax called the "crisis tax." Also, the sales tax was increased from 22% to 23%. Businesses and economists worried these taxes would slow down the economy even more.

In late 2009, many government officials were suspected of corruption. Many officials were arrested because of these accusations. Some people praised Kosor's government for fighting corruption. Others criticized it because most of the suspects were from Kosor's own party, the HDZ. People wondered if Kosor knew about these problems earlier. The accusations grew stronger as more corruption cases were linked to the former Prime Minister, Ivo Sanader.

On 3 January 2010, Ivo Sanader announced he was returning to politics. He said it was a mistake to leave. He criticized Kosor's leadership. The HDZ party then decided to remove Sanader from the party. Many people supported Kosor against the unpopular former Prime Minister. Her approval ratings reached 77% by the end of February.

However, throughout 2010, the economy became the biggest concern. Many jobs were lost, and unemployment increased. People spent less money, which hurt businesses. Kosor's support started to fall. In June, she suggested making labor laws more flexible for businesses. This was strongly opposed by unions. They organized a petition signed by over 700,000 citizens, asking for a public vote on the issue. The government decided to drop the proposed changes.

Foreign Relations

Jadranka Kosor signed an agreement with Borut Pahor, the Prime Minister of Slovenia, in November 2009. This agreement helped end a long-standing border dispute between the two countries. It also allowed Croatia's negotiations to join the European Union to continue. On 9 December 2011, Prime Minister Kosor and President Ivo Josipović signed the EU Accession Treaty in Brussels. This was a big step for Croatia to become a member of the European Union.

Public Opinion

Kosor's approval ratings (IpsosPuls November 2009 – December 2011)

After Being Prime Minister

Kosor with Serbian President Boris Tadić and Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor

After her party lost the 2011 election, Kosor handed over power to the new Prime Minister, Zoran Milanović. On 23 December 2011, Kosor was elected Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament. She also became the leader of the opposition.

Kosor ran for the leadership of the HDZ party in 2012 but came in third place. She often spoke out against the new party leader, Tomislav Karamarko, and the party's new direction. In 2013, she was removed from the HDZ party for "damaging the reputation of the party."

After leaving HDZ, Kosor continued as an independent politician. She became more liberal in her views. She voted in favor of allowing a public vote on banning same-sex marriage. However, she later voted for a law that gave same-sex couples similar rights to married heterosexual couples. In 2015, she received threats and was given police protection. She ran in the 2015 election but was not elected to parliament. She continued to criticize other politicians and parties.

Kosor is very active on Twitter, where she shares her thoughts on daily events and politicians' statements. She also has a personal blog called "Day After Yesterday." In 2017, she published a book with texts from her blog and newspaper columns. In 2021, she received the Grand Order of Queen Jelena award for her "extraordinary contribution to the international position and reputation of the Republic of Croatia." In 2023, she reached the semi-final of Croatia's Masked Singer show.

Personal Life

Jadranka Kosor has been married twice. She was married to Hrvoje Markul from 1971 to 1981, and to Ivo Škopljanac from 1984 to 1993. She has one son, Lovro Škopljanac, born in 1984. He works at the University of Zagreb.

She has published five books. Two are poetry books, two are about the Croatian War of Independence, and one contains her thoughts on Croatian politics. Kosor has received several awards for her work as a journalist and for her humanitarian efforts. She is also an honorary member or president of several associations that support veterans and people with disabilities.

Images for kids

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  Jadranka Kosor's signature

See also

In Spanish: Jadranka Kosor para niños