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Croatia’s first female president sworn in

Sunday, 15 February 2015 5:10 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 15 February 2015 6:00 PM ]

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic is sworn in during an inauguration ceremony in the capital, Zagreb, February 15, 2015. (© AFP)

Croatia’s first female president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, has been officially sworn into office.

The swearing-in ceremony of newly-elected Grabar-Kitarovic was held in the capital, Zagreb, on Sunday.

Grabar-Kitarovic, a conservative, took an oath to abide by the constitution during her five-year term, and pledged to help kick-start the country’s ailing economy.

Croatia has been hit by a six-year recession and is suffering from a huge public debt.

“I want that after almost two years of European Union membership, we all eventually start to live the life of an EU member,” she said in her inaugural speech at Saint Mark’s Square in Zagreb shortly after the swearing-in ceremony.

Grabar-Kitarovic added that she will do her best “to make Croatia a wealthy nation.”

Croatian presidency

The presidential post in Croatia is largely ceremonial; however, the president exercises power in foreign policy and intelligence matters and is the head of the country’s armed forces.

Grabar-Kitarovic is Croatia’s fourth president since its independence from the former Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991.

A former foreign minister and an ex-assistant secretary general of the NATO, Grabar-Kitarovic narrowly defeated her predecessor and rival candidate, Ivo Josipovic, in an election run-off on January 11.

EU membership

Croatia joined the EU in July 2013, becoming the bloc’s 28th member almost two decades after it declared independence.

The previous ruling center-left government was accused of failing to tackle the country’s six-year-long recession.

The country has been struggling with a high unemployment rate of close to 20 percent and a soaring youth jobless rate, with half of the country’s youth out of work.

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