Ivo Sanader begins a second term as Prime Minister

Following the parliamentary elections of November 2007, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), led by Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, retained power and formed a new government with the support of centrist parties and representatives of national minorities. Prime Minister since 2003, Ivo Sanader was then the dominant figure in Croatian politics. His first term was marked by the country’s political and economic stabilization, the acceleration of reforms, and a decisive rapprochement with the European Union and NATO. After the opening of EU accession negotiations in 2005, his reappointment in 2007 was widely seen as confirmation of Croatia’s European and Western orientation.

2007

30 August 2007

Photo: Nikša Stipaničev / CROPIX

The Kornati tragedy shocks Croatia

Croatia was struck by one of the greatest tragedies in its recent peacetime history. During a major wildfire on the island of Kornat, in the Kornati archipelago, twelve young firefighters were trapped and killed by the flames following an exceptionally rare and extreme thermal phenomenon described as a flashover. Only one of the thirteen members of the team survived. The tragedy caused immense emotion throughout the country, both because of the youth of the victims and the exceptional — and long-disputed — circumstances of the disaster. Large crowds attended the commemorations and funerals of the victims. To this day, the Kornati tragedy remains a symbol of the sacrifice of emergency services and one of the deepest collective traumas in contemporary Croatian history.