Europe

Croatia
Last reviewed: 01 February 2008

Country information

Politics

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HISTORY

Recent History

The roots of Croatia’s traumatic emergence as an independent state in the 1990s go back to the Second World War (and even further). Its imore recent history was strongly influenced by Slobodan Milosevic, who came to power in the former Yugoslavia in 1989. Slovenia and Croatia, both then federal states within Yugoslavia, became disillusioned with the speed of economic and political reforms under his leadership. By January 1990 they had set themselves on the path to independence.

In 1990 the newly formed Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won elections installing Franjo Tudjman as President. On 25 June 1991 Croatia declared independence (alongside Slovenia). Serbia, under Milosevic, opposed the independence moves and sent in the Yugoslav army, who fought in cooperation with elements of Croatia’s Serb minority against Croatian forces in a conflict lasting for 5 years.

In December 1995, President Tudjman signed the General Framework for Peace, better known as the Dayton Agreement. Under the Erdut agreement, eastern Slavonia was put under UN administration and reverted to Croatia in 1998. The war had left 20,000 Croatians dead or missing and seriously damaged the economy. The vast majority (over 250,000) of Croatia’s Serb population had also fled the country. Milosevic would later be put on trial in the Hague on war crimes charges.

After 1995, Croatian politics was increasingly dominated by Tudjman’s brand of authoritarian nationalism. Both the economy and Croatia’s international standing suffered. The state was used to restrict media freedoms and promote the interests of those close to the President. Since Tudjman’s death in 1999, the Croatian political and economic landscape has changed dramatically.