Marko Culej (19 January 1938 – 19 August 2006) was a Croatian Catholic prelate who served as the first Bishop of Varaždin from 1997 until his death in 2006.

Culej was born into a Catholic family of Petar and Josipa (née Bočkal) near Zlatar in the Hrvatsko Zagorje region as one among six children.

Culej was appointed a canon of the Primate's Chapter of Zagreb and a head of the Archdiocesan Center for Spiritual Vocations.

On February 22, 1992, he was consecrated as bishop by Cardinal Franjo Kuharić and other prelates in the Cathedral of Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Stephen of Hungary in Zagreb.

Four years later, on July 5, 1997, Culej become the first bishop of the newly created Roman Catholic Diocese of Varaždin.