Vesna Pusić facts for kids
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Vesna Pusić
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| President of the Croatian People's Party | |
| In office 23 March 2013 – 16 April 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Radimir Čačić |
| Succeeded by | Ivan Vrdoljak |
| In office April 2000 – 6 April 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Radimir Čačić |
| Succeeded by | Radimir Čačić |
| First Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia | |
| In office 16 November 2012 – 22 January 2016 |
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| Prime Minister | Zoran Milanović |
| Preceded by | Radimir Čačić |
| Succeeded by | Tomislav Karamarko |
| Minister of Foreign and European Affairs | |
| In office 23 December 2011 – 22 January 2016 |
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| Prime Minister | Zoran Milanović |
| Preceded by | Gordan Jandroković |
| Succeeded by | Miro Kovač |
| Member of the Croatian Parliament for the 1st electoral district | |
| In office 30 January 2016 – 22 July 2020 |
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| Preceded by | Igor Kolman |
| In office 2 February 2000 – 22 December 2011 |
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| Succeeded by | Igor Kolman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 April 1953 Zagreb, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Political party |
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| Spouse | Jurgis Oniunas |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University of Zagreb |
| Awards | Legion of Honour (Chevalier) |
Vesna Pusić (born 25 March 1953) is a Croatian sociologist and politician. She served as the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in Croatia. She was the second woman to hold the position of Foreign Minister in Croatia. Vesna Pusić is known for supporting European integration, which means working closely with other European countries. She also supports gender equality and the rights of all people.
Vesna Pusić became involved in politics in the early 1990s. She was elected to the Croatian Parliament five times in a row. This means she served as a MP for many years. She also ran for president in 2009–2010. During her time in parliament, she helped oversee Croatia's talks to join the European Union. She also held a leadership role in a European political party called ELDR.
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Early Life and Education
Vesna Pusić was born in Zagreb, Croatia, on 25 March 1953. Her father, Eugen Pusić, was a university professor and a jurist (a legal expert). Her mother, Višnja Pusić, was an English language professor.
Vesna finished high school in 1971. After that, she went to the University of Zagreb. She studied sociology and philosophy and graduated in 1976. In 1984, she earned her doctorate degree in sociology from the same university.
Professional Career
After graduating, Vesna Pusić worked on a research project about how workers make decisions in companies across Europe. This was from 1975 to 1979. She also worked as a researcher at the Institute of Sociology in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 1976 to 1978.
Since 1978, she has worked at the Sociology Department of the University of Zagreb. She taught classes about how people make decisions in workplaces and the sociology of politics. In 1978, Vesna Pusić was one of seven women who started the first feminist organization in SFR Yugoslavia. It was called Žena i društvo (Woman and society). She was criticized by the government at that time for this. From 1992 to 1994, she was the head of the Sociology Department. She is still connected to the University of Zagreb, but she stopped teaching in 2010 because she became very active in politics.
Vesna Pusić also gave lectures at many famous universities in the United States. These include the University of Chicago, Cornell University, and Georgetown University.
Political Career
Vesna Pusić was one of the 28 people who started the Croatian People's Party (HNS-LD) in 1990. She left politics for a short time in 1992 but rejoined the party in 1997. She became the party's president twice, first from 2000 to 2008, and then again starting in 2013.
She was first elected to the Croatian Parliament in the 2000 election. She was reelected in 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015.
In 1992, Pusić helped create and lead the Erasmus Guild. This was a group that worked to promote democracy. It also published a journal called Erasmus, which focused on changes happening in Croatia and other countries in Eastern Europe. The Erasmus Guild stopped its work in 1998.
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In 2005 and 2008, she became the Chairwoman of the National Committee for EU negotiations. This group was in charge of overseeing Croatia's talks to join the European Union. In 2006 and 2008, she was chosen as the vice-president of the ELDR. In 2008, she was elected the first chairwoman of the Liberal South East European Network.
In the 2009–2010 Croatian presidential election, Vesna Pusić was the candidate for her party. She finished fifth out of twelve candidates in the first round.
After a group of parties called the Kukuriku coalition won the 2011 parliamentary elections, Pusić became the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs. This was part of the government led by Zoran Milanović. When Radimir Čačić was removed from the Croatian People's Party in 2013, Vesna Pusić became the party president again.
Pusić was reelected to Parliament in the 2015 elections. She served as a Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament from February to October 2016.
She was reelected to Parliament in the 2016 special elections. Later, her party decided to work with a more conservative party. Because of this, Pusić left her party and, with three other MPs, started a new party called the Civic Liberal Alliance. She continued to be an MP until the 2020 parliamentary election. At that time, she decided to retire from politics instead of running for reelection.
UN Secretary-General Candidature
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On 3 September 2015, the Croatian Government decided to suggest Vesna Pusić as Croatia's official candidate for the 2016 UN Secretary-General selection. Her nomination was officially sent on 14 January 2016.
During her campaign, she discussed important global issues. One topic was the cholera outbreak in Haiti. There was evidence that UN peacekeepers brought cholera to Haiti. When asked if the victims should be helped, Ms. Pusić said the question should be studied by experts.
Another issue discussed was the problem of peacekeepers abusing people. This problem became known after Anders Kompass revealed cases of abuse. Pusić was asked how she would handle this. She said she would follow existing guidelines and make sure peacekeepers who commit such acts are held responsible. She also talked about having a strong command structure and faster reporting of cases.
Pusić took part in a UN debate on 12 July 2016. She said that leaders today need vision, persistence, and courage. She wanted to be Secretary-General because topics like peace, human rights, and development have always been important to her. She also mentioned that being a female candidate was important, as the UN had been led by men for 50 years.
After receiving many "discourage" votes in a secret poll by the UN Security Council on 21 July 2016, Pusić decided to withdraw from the race on 4 August 2016. She then focused on the 2016 Croatian parliamentary elections.
Activism
Vesna Pusić is well-liked in the Croatian LGBT community. In 2011, people attending Zagreb Pride (a public event celebrating LGBT rights) named her the "gay friendly person of the decade." She often attended the Zagreb LGBT pride events.
Her brother, Zoran Pusić, is also an activist. He works for civil rights and peace. He is the President of the Civic Committee for Human Rights and the chairman of the Anti-Fascist League of the Republic of Croatia.
Private Life
Vesna Pusić is married to Jurgis Oniunas, an entrepreneur from Lithuania and America. They have a daughter named Daina, who is a film director. Vesna Pusić speaks Croatian, English, and German very well.
In 2017, the French President François Hollande gave Pusić France's highest honor, the Legion of Honour. She received this award for supporting European goals and helping France and Croatia work together. During the award ceremony in January 2018, the French ambassador praised her for promoting European values and tolerance. He also noted her efforts to cooperate with minorities and her concern for cultural diversity in Croatia.
See also
In Spanish: Vesna Pusić para niños
