Vesna Pusić facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vesna Pusić
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| President of the Croatian People's Party | |
| In office 23 March 2013 – 16 April 2016 |
|
| Preceded by | Radimir Čačić |
| Succeeded by | Ivan Vrdoljak |
| In office April 2000 – 6 April 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Radimir Čačić |
| Succeeded by | Radimir Čačić |
| First Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia | |
| In office 16 November 2012 – 22 January 2016 |
|
| 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 |
|
| 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 |
|
| Preceded by | Igor Kolman |
| In office 2 February 2000 – 22 December 2011 |
|
| Succeeded by | Igor Kolman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 April 1953 Zagreb, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Political party |
|
| 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. She was part of the government led by Zoran Milanović.
Vesna Pusić was the second woman to become Foreign Minister of Croatia. She is known for her strong support of liberal ideas. She also supports European integration, which means countries working closely together in Europe. She believes in anti-fascism, gender equality (equal rights for men and women), and LGBT rights.
She became involved in politics in the early 1990s. Pusić was elected to the Croatian Parliament five times in a row. She also ran for president in 2009–10. During one of her terms, she led a committee that watched Croatia's progress in joining the European Union. She was also a Vice-President of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Vesna Pusić was born in Zagreb on 25 March 1953. Her father, Eugen Pusić, was a jurist and university professor. Her mother, Višnja Pusić, taught English.
She finished high school in 1971. Then, she went to the University of Zagreb. She studied sociology and philosophy and graduated in 1976. In 1984, she earned her doctorate (PhD) in sociology from the same university. Her PhD paper was about how group decisions help workers.
Working Career
After graduating, Pusić worked in a research group from 1975 to 1979. They studied how workers had a say in companies in twelve European countries. From 1976 to 1978, she was a researcher at the Institute of Sociology in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Since 1978, she has worked at the Sociology Department of the University of Zagreb. She taught classes on how industries are run and the sociology of politics. In 1978, Pusić was one of seven women who started the first feminist group in SFR Yugoslavia. It was called Žena i društvo (Woman and society). The authorities at the time did not like this group.
From 1992 to 1994, she was the Head of the Sociology Department. Since 2010, she has been involved in politics and is not actively teaching. Pusić has also given lectures at many universities in the United States. These include the University of Chicago and Cornell University.
Political Journey
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 she rejoined the party in 1997. She was the party's president from 2000 to 2008, and again from 2013.
She first became a member of the Croatian Parliament in the 2000 election. She was reelected in 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015. In 1992, Pusić helped start the Erasmus Guild. This was a group that worked on promoting democracy. It also published a journal called Erasmus. This journal focused on changes happening in Croatia and other countries in former Yugoslavia and Eastern Europe. The Erasmus Guild stopped working in 1998.
.jpg)
In 2005 and 2008, she became the leader of the National Committee for EU negotiations. This group watched how Croatia was doing in its talks to join the European Union. In 2006 and 2008, she was chosen as vice-president of ELDR. In 2008, she was elected the first leader of the Liberal South East European Network.
In the 2009–2010 Croatian presidential election, Pusić was the HNS-LD candidate. She came in fifth place out of twelve candidates in the first round. This meant she did not move on to the second round.
After the Kukuriku coalition won the 2011 elections, Pusić became the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs. She was part of the government led by Zoran Milanović. When Radimir Čačić was removed from the Croatian People's Party in 2013, 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 2016 to October 2016. She was also reelected in the 2016 special parliamentary elections. Later, her party, HNS, decided to work with a conservative party. Because of this, Pusić left HNS. She and three other members of parliament started a new party called the Civic Liberal Alliance. She continued to be a Member of Parliament until 2020. At that time, she decided to retire from politics.
UN Secretary-General Candidature
.jpg)
On 3 September 2015, the Croatian Government decided to suggest Pusić as their candidate for the 2016 UN Secretary-General election. Her nomination was officially sent on 14 January 2016.
During discussions about the UN Secretary-General role, Pusić was asked about the accountability of peacekeepers. She said that peacekeepers who have done bad things should not be allowed to serve for a certain number of years. She also stressed the need for 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 peace, human rights, and development are very important to her. She also mentioned that being a female candidate was important. This is because the UN had been led by men for 50 years.
After getting 11 "discourage" votes in a secret poll by the UN Security Council, Pusić decided to withdraw from the race. This happened on 4 August 2016. She chose to focus on the 2016 Croatian parliamentary elections instead.
Activism and Personal Life
Vesna Pusić is well-liked by the LGBT community in Croatia. In 2011, people at Zagreb Pride gave her an award. They called her the "gay friendly person of the decade." She often attends the Zagreb LGBT pride events.
Her brother, Zoran, is an activist for civil rights and peace. He is the President of the Civic Committee for Human Rights. He also leads the Anti-Fascist League of the Republic of Croatia.
Pusić is married to Jurgis Oniunas, who is 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 a high award. It was the Legion of Honour, which is France's highest honor. She received it for supporting European goals and helping France and Croatia work together. The French ambassador said she showed European values and tolerance. He praised her for speaking out against hate and for supporting diversity.
