INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE PRESIDENT OF CROATIA

Find out interesting facts about the female president of Croatia who melted the heart of football fans worldwide.

First female president of Croatia, President Kolinda got everyone talking both on and off the pitch. She has been applauded for her great sportsmanship and most especially for physically going to Russia to cheer on the Croatian Football team in the FIFA 2018 World Cup.

Although they have participated in four World Cup matches before this one, this is the very first time that the Croatian team has made it to the finals.

“I wanted to showcase that I am a football fan, like everyone else; I wanted to support the team among other fans in the stands. I put on a shirt with national symbols, whereas the dress code in the VIP zone, which usually presupposes long gowns, wouldn’t have permitted such an outfit,” the Russian website Sportbox quoted her as saying.

After Croatia won the penalty shootout she went to the team’s changing rooms to give them hugs and congratulate the coach and players.

But just who is Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic?

The Croatian president is 50-years-old. She studied in Zagreb, Vienna, Washington DC and Havard, before completing her doctoral studies in her home country three years ago.

She is fluent in Croatian, English, Spanish and Portuguese, while she has some understanding of German, French and Italian.

She became the fourth President of Croatia in February 2015, the first woman to do so.

Ms. Grabar-Kitarovic comes from Rijeka and is a graduate of the University of Zagreb in English, Spanish and International Relations.

She also studied in the USA, a country where she spent her childhood and adolescence, notably at the George Washington University, Harvard, and John Hopkins University.

After working in the diplomatic field, she was elected MP in the general election on November 23, 2003.

In the same year, she was appointed European Integration Minister in the government led by Prime Minister Ivo Sander (HDZ). In this post, she was responsible for Croatia’s negotiations to enter the European Union. Two years later she was appointed Foreign Minister and European Integration Minister.

In 2008, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic became Croatia’s Ambassador to the US before joining NATO three years later, where she became the first woman to be appointed Deputy Secretary-General to the Secretary-General responsible for public information.

Kolinda Grabar got married to Jakov Kitarovic in 1996 with whom she has two children with; a 17-year-old daughter, Katarina, and a 15-year-old son, Luka.