Premiership Elections Family Andrej Plenković (pronounced [ǎndreːj plěːŋkoʋitɕ] listenⓘ; born 8 April 1970) is a Croatian politician serving as the prime minister of Croatia since October 2016.

[2] Following his graduation from the Faculty of Law at the University of Zagreb in 1993, Plenković held various bureaucratic positions in the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

After completing a postgraduate degree in 2002 (research master in international law), he served as deputy chief of Croatia's mission to the European Union.

He was designated as prime minister of Croatia by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on 10 October 2016 after presenting 91 signatures of support by members of Parliament to her.

[7] He was exempted from a then-mandatory conscription for a one-year active duty with the Yugoslav People's Army due to his diagnosis of thalassemia minor, a mild form of anemia, and he was deemed unfit for military service.

At the beginning of the 1990s, he became interested in Europe and actively participated in European Law Students Association (ELSA), of which he was president in Zagreb in 1991.

He was in charge of the coordination of political activities of the mission and he worked on networking with the officials of the European Commission, Council, Parliament and other permanent representations of various member states.

He was working on Croatian application for membership in the European Union in 2002, and in 2003, making pressure for the status of candidate country in 2004 and for the opening of the accession negotiations in 2005.

Together with numerous media appearances, Plenković held dozens of lectures on joining the European Union in all Croatian counties.

[15] Prior to the referendum, Plenković held series of lectures on the European Union at the party rallies across Croatia and participated in numerous public debates, TV and radio shows.

Its leader, former prime minister Zoran Milanović, ruled out running for reelection to his party's chairmanship, effectively also ruling out any possible attempts to form a governing majority, thus allowing the HDZ to begin talks with the Bridge of Independent Lists (Most), its junior partner in the outgoing government led by the non-partisan prime minister Tihomir Orešković.

He formally received 91 signatures of support from MPs on 10 October 2016, far more than the necessary 76, and presented them to President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who named him prime minister-designate and gave him thirty days time until 9 November to form a government.

His government received the support of MPs belonging to the HDZ-HSLS-HDS coalition, Bridge of Independent Lists, Bandić Milan 365, HSS, HDSSB, SDSS and 5 representatives of other national minorities.

[23][24] On 27 April 2017, Plenković dismissed three of his government ministers representing the Bridge of Independent Lists, the junior partner in the governing coalition, over their reluctance to support a vote of confidence in finance minister Zdravko Marić, whom Most accuses of withholding certain information relating to an ongoing crisis involving one of Croatia's largest firms, Agrokor, where Marić had worked a few years previously.

Namely, Most consider that Marić had knowledge of irregularities occurring in the way Agrokor paid its suppliers and had chosen to not reveal that information to protect the firm he formerly worked for.

With Most deciding to withdraw its parliamentary support for the Plenković cabinet, Božo Petrov resigned as speaker on 5 May and was succeeded by Gordan Jandroković of the HDZ.

However, the government crisis was ultimately resolved on 9 June 2017 when 5 out of 9 members of Parliament representing the Croatian People's Party (HNS) agreed to enter a coalition with the HDZ, while the other four MPs (among them Vesna Pusić and Anka Mrak Taritaš) decided to leave HNS and form a new political party called the Civic Liberal Alliance (GLAS).

The Plenković cabinet underwent a reshuffle, with HNS being given the portfolios of Science and Education and Construction and Spatial Planning.

Since May 2017, Plenković has been constantly named the most negative politician in Croatia by monthly polls conducted by the Promocija Plus and IPSOS PULS agencies.

[31] A nationwide strike of teachers in primary and secondary schools started on 10 October 2019, following the government's refusal to increase their wages by 6%.

[34] The initial tax reform proposal from Zdravko Marić, the finance minister who retained his position from the previous cabinet, caused some disagreements between the two member parties of the ruling coalition, the HDZ and the Most.

[37] In December 2017, the government increased the minimum wage by 5% for 2018 and adopted several new laws, including the allocation of the income tax revenue entirely to local administrative units and lower payments to the state when purchasing used cars.

[38] Croatia's general government recorded a surplus of €424.5 million in 2017 or 0.9% of GDP, attributed to an increase in income from taxes related to manufacturing and imports, and a reduction in interest payments.

[40] The Croatian Employers' Association said that reforms stalled following the income tax cuts in early 2017, causing a slower economic growth.

Highly contested by workers' unions, it raises the legal retirement age to 67 for all employees, instead of 65 for men and 62 for women previously.

Plenković and Prosecutor General Ivan Turudić have also attempted to block the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), which is responsible for investigating cases of corruption and fraud involving EU funds, claiming that it is not competent to deal with the numerous investigations it has launched against Croatian politicians and civil servants.

After attending his first European Council summit on 20 October 2016, in an address to the Croatian Parliament, Plenković said that "there is no need for Croatia to build border fences".

[49] Plenković called for bilateral talks to resolve the issue,[50] while Slovenia insists on the implementation of the arbitral decision.

[59] The construction of the bridge, paid largery with EU funding, began on 30 July 2018 to connect Croatia's territory and was supported by Komšić's main election opponent Dragan Čović.

Interior Minister Davor Božinović represented Croatia at the adoption of the agreement, after President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović announced she would not participate at the conference.