A brief Croatia history

Croatia history has been turbulent and interpretations of recent events are still disputed, so rather than wade in with an intrpretation of our own, we thought it would be wiser to refer to our friends at Wikipedia.

But before we do that, there are also some excellent accounts of various aspects of regional Croatia history (CLICK HERE FOR SOME FASCINATING READS - link to be added shortly).

The modern history period in begins in 1990 with the country's change of political and economic system as well as Declaring independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, and obtaining it in 1992.

Following the end of the war, Franjo Tuđman's government started to lose popularity as it was criticized (among other things) for its involvement in suspicious privatization deals of the early 1990s. In 1995, the opposition surprisingly won in the capital of Zagreb, which led to the Zagreb Crisis when Tuđman refused to accept this victory.

A new chapter of Croatian history began when Croatia became a member of the Council of Europe on November 6, 1996. 1996 and 1997 were a period of post-war recovery and improving economic conditions.

The remaining part of former "Krajina", areas adjacent to FR Yugoslavia, negotiated a peaceful reintegration process with the Government. The so-called Erdut Agreement made the area a temporary protectorate of the UN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium. The area was formally re-integrated into Croatia on January 15, 1998.[edit] Post-Tuđman era

Tuđman died in 1999 and so ended an era of Croatia history and in the early 2000 parliamentary elections, the nationalist HDZ government was replaced by a center-left coalition, with Ivica Račan as prime minister. At the same time, presidential elections were held which were won by a moderate, Stjepan Mesić.

The new Račan government amended the Constitution, changing the political system from a presidential system to a parliamentary system, transferring most executive presidential powers from the president onto the institutions of the Parliament and the Prime Minister. The new government also started several large building projects, including state-sponsored housing and the building of the vital Zagreb-Split Highway.

The country rebounded from a mild recession in 1998/1999 and achieved notable economic growth during the following years. The unemployment rate would continue to rise until 2001 when it finally started falling. Return of refugees accelerated as many homes were rebuilt by the government; most Croats had already returned (except for some in Vukovar), whereas only a third of the Serbs had done so, impeded by unfavorable property laws as well as ethnic and economic issues. A turbulent period of Croatia history was coming to a close.

The Račan government is often credited with bringing the country out of semi-isolation of the Tuđman era. It became a World Trade Organization (WTO) member on November 30, 2000. The country signed an association agreement with the European Union in October 2001, and applied for membership in February/March 2003.[edit] Later events

In late 2003, new parliamentary elections were held and a reformed HDZ party won under leadership of Ivo Sanader, who became prime minister. After some delay caused by controversy over extradition of army generals to the ICTY, in 2004 the European Commission finally issued a recommendation that the accession negotiations with Croatia should begin. Its report on Croatia described it as a modern democratic society with a competent economy and the ability to take on further obligations, provided it continued the reform process.

The country was given EU applicant status on June 18, 2004 and a negotiations framework was set up in March 2005. Actual negotiations began after the capture of general Ante Gotovina in December 2005, which resolved outstanding issues with the ICTY in the Hague. However, numerous complications stalled the negotiating process, most notably during Slovenia's blockade of its EU accession from December 2008 until September 2009.

Further issues notwithstanding, the government and the European Union expect Croatia to become a member of the EU between 2011 and 2012, when a new chapter of Croatian history will begin.

From Croatia History to Total Croatia Home