Croatia's President Zoran Milanovic inspects the honour guard on the day of his swearing-in ceremony held at the Presidential office in Zagreb, Croatia, Feb 18, 2025. [Photo/Agencies]
ZAGREB -- Croatian President Zoran Milanovic was inaugurated for his second five-year term at a ceremony at the presidential office in Zagreb on Tuesday.
Around 100 guests, including former presidents Stjepan Mesic and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, four deputy speakers of the Parliament, Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Tihomir Kundid and Mayor of Zagreb Tomislav Tomasevic, were invited to attend the ceremony.
After taking the oath of office with Miroslav Separovic, president of the Croatian Constitutional Court, Milanovic delivered his inaugural speech. He promised to safeguard Croatia's independence and sovereignty, oversee the "orderly and fair" operation of all government institutions, work for the benefit of the people, and call on all sectors to work together to address social problems such as inequality and corruption.
Milanovic secured a second term with a decisive victory in the presidential runoff held on Jan. 12. He defeated his rival, Dragan Primorac, by a substantial margin.
Born in 1966, Milanovic was elected president for the first time during the presidential runoff held five years ago. Previously, he served as a Croatian diplomat to the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and he was Croatian prime minister from December 2011 to January 2016.
Croatian presidents serve five-year terms and can only seek re-election once.
