Furthermore, Matulović-Dropulić served as the 49th Mayor of Zagreb, becoming the first woman in the city's history to hold that post.

[2] In 1995 she became a government minister in the cabinet of Zlatko Mateša, holding the portfolio of Spatial Planning, Construction and Housing.

She served in that position until President Franjo Tuđman appointed her as mayor of Zagreb in December 1996.

Tuđman, however, had already appointed her as mayor on 2 March 1996, but the city council had refused to endorse such a move.

Namely, before the appointment of Matulović-Dropulić herself, Tuđman had already refused to endorse two candidates elected to the mayorship by the city council: Goran Granić and Jozo Radoš and a further two candidates were rejected by him after the council refused to back Matulović-Dropulić: Ivo Škrabalo and Dražen Budiša.