Croatia
Croatia serves as a gateway to eastern Europe. It lies along the
east coast of the Adriatic Sea and shares a border with Serbia,
Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and Slovenia. The
republic swings around like a boomerang from the Pannonian Plains of
Slavonia between the Sava, Drava, and Danube Rivers, across hilly,
central Croatia to the Istrian Peninsula, then south through
Dalmatia along the rugged Adriatic coast. Croatia is made up of 20
counties plus the city of Zagreb and controls 1,185 islands in the
Adriatic Sea, 67 of which are inhabited. |
|
The Croats are believed to be a Slavic people who migrated from
Ukraine and settled in present-day Croatia during the 6th century.
After a period of self-rule, Croatians agreed to the Pacta Conventa
in 1091, submitting themselves to Hungarian authority. By the
mid-1400s, concerns over Ottoman expansion led the Croatian Assembly
to invite the Habsburgs, under Archduke Ferdinand, to assume control
over Croatia. Habsburg rule proved successful in thwarting the
Ottomans, and by the 18th century, much of Croatia was free of
Turkish control.
In 1868, Croatia gained domestic autonomy while remaining under
Hungarian authority. Following World War I and the demise of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, Croatia joined the Kingdom of Serbs,
Croats, and Slovenes (the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes
became Yugoslavia in 1929). Yugoslavia changed its name once again
after World War II. The new state became the Federal Socialist
Republic of Yugoslavia and united Croatia and several other states
together under the communistic leadership of Marshall Tito (born
Josip Broz).
After the death of Tito and with the fall of communism throughout
eastern Europe, the Yugoslav federation began to unravel. Croatia
held its first multi-party elections since World War II in 1990.
Long-time Croatian nationalist Franjo Tudjman was elected President,
and one year later, Croatians declared independence from Yugoslavia.
Conflict between Serbs and Croats in Croatia escalated, and one
month after Croatia declared independence, war erupted.
The United Nations mediated a cease-fire in January 1992, but
hostilities resumed the next year when Croatia fought to regain
one-third of the territory lost the previous year. A second
cease-fire was enacted in May 1993, followed by a joint declaration
the next January between Croatia and Yugoslavia. However, in
September 1993, the Croatian Army led an offensive against the
Serb-held self-styled "Republic of Krajina." A third cease-fire was
called in March 1994, but it, too, was broken in May and August
1995, after which Croatian forces regained large portions of the
Krajina, prompting an exodus of Serbs from this area. In November
1995, Croatia agreed to peacefully reintegrate Eastern Slavonia,
Baranja, and Western Sirmium under terms of the Erdut Agreement, and
the Croatian government re-established political and legal authority
over those territories in January 1998. In December 1995, Croatia
signed the Dayton peace agreement, committing itself to a permanent
cease-fire and the return of all refugees.
The death of President Tudjman in December 1999, followed by the
election of a coalition government and President in early 2000,
brought significant changes to Croatia. The government, under the
leadership of then-Prime Minister Racan, progressed in
implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords, regional cooperation,
refugee returns, national reconciliation, and democratization.
On November 23, 2003, national elections were held for Parliament,
and the HDZ, which had governed Croatia from independence until
2000, came back into power. The HDZ government, headed by Prime
Minister Ivo Sanader, was narrowly re-elected in a November 2007
ballot, and the new government assumed office on January 12, 2008.
The Sanader government's priorities remain membership for Croatia in
the European Union and in NATO. Presidential elections were held in
January 2005. President Mesic, having defeated the HDZ candidate in
that election, was inaugurated for a second term on February 18,
2005. Presidential elections will next be held in January 2010. |
|
