Southeastern Europe:
The Long Road to Stability

H.E.  Stjepan Mesic
President of Croatia

Photos

His Excellency President Stjepan Mesic delivered a public address at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, May 6, 2002, at the invitation of the Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East Central Europe.

President Mesic spoke at the Kennedy School's ARCO Forum of Public Affairs, the premier arena for political speech, discussion and debate at Harvard University.  Since its founding in 1978, the Forum has hosted heads of state, leaders in politics, government, business, labor and the press, community activists and academics from all over the globe in more than 1700 events.

Stjepan Mesic was elected President of Croatia last February, after pledging to move the country away from the nationalism and authoritarianism of his predecessor, Franjo Tudjman, who ruled Croatia from independence in 1991 until his death in late 1999.   In almost a year since he inherited the economically ravaged and isolated country, President Mesic has actively endeavored to move Croatia into the European integration process.

Born in 1934 in eastern Croatia, Mesic served during the 1960's as a deputy in the Croatian parliament, and Croatia’s representative in the collective Yugoslav presidency in the early 1990's when the federation began disintegrating.  

Mesic joined Croatia’s fight for independence as Tudjman’s closest aide.  In 1992 he was elected Speaker of the Parliament.  By 1994 however, he became dissatisfied with Tudjman’s party (HDZ) and denounced its aggressive policy in Bosnia, Tudjman’s disregard for democracy and the widely rumored corruption within the party.  He abandoned the HDZ and founded the Croatian Independent Democrats party (HND) in 1994.