Željko Jovanović (politician)

Željko Jovanović
Željko Jovanović
Minister of Science, Education and Sports
	In office; 23 December 2011 – 11 June 2014
Prime Minister	Zoran Milanović
Succeeded by	Vedran Mornar
Preceded by	Radovan Fuchs
Personal details
Born	26 November 1965 (age 58); Rijeka, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia; (now Croatia)
Political party	Social Democratic Party of Croatia
Alma mater	University of Rijeka

Željko Jovanović (born 26 November 1965) is a Croatian politician and physician who served as Minister of Science, Education and Sports from 2011 until 2014. He is a member of the center-left Social Democratic Party of Croatia.

Early life

Jovanović, an ethnic Serb, was born on 26 November 1965 in Rijeka.^[1] He spent his early childhood in Grobnik, Podhum and Svilno with his parents Niko and Petra.^[1] He enrolled into elementary school after moving to Turnić [hr].^[1] His brother Slobodan was born in this period.^[1] Jovanović's class was the only group in generation which studied Russian as the foreign language in the school.^[1] As a child, Jovanović was interested in sports and movies.^[1] He particularly liked Otpisani, Gustav and Bruce Lee.^[1] In 1978, he participated in "Šamac Sarajevo 78" youth work action.^[1]

Education

Jovanović graduated medicine from the School of Medicine of the University of Rijeka, and gained master's degree's in the field of biomedical sciences (Rijeka School of Medicine, 1995) and in the field of marketing management (Rijeka Faculty of Economics, 2005). He also holds doctorate in internal medicine. During his studies Jovanović was involved in student politics and he was president of the Student Union at the School of Medicine, president of the Student Board of the University of Rijeka and the First Student Vice-Rector.^[1] He completed further professional development at the London Business School and INSEAD.^[1]

Politics

Since 23 December 2011, Jovanović has held the post of Minister of Science, Education and Sports in the centre-left government of Zoran Milanović. He received his doctorate in biomedical science and his master's degree in economics at the University of Rijeka in 2005.

On 13 January 2012, Antun Vrdoljak threatened to sue if Jovanović did not apologize for accusing Vrdoljak, in his capacity as member of the International Olympic Committee, of "selling the candidacy of the City of Rijeka for hosting the Mediterranean games."^[2]

Personal life

Jovanović was a member of the Croatian Army during the Croatian War of Independence.^[3] He is married and has one son.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Laptošević, D. (October 2020). "Kad sam bio mali: Grand slam u školovanju" [When I was a kid: Grand Slam in Schooling]. Bijela pčela: List za svu djecu (in Serbian) (260). Rijeka: Prosvjeta: 30–31.
^ "Vrdoljak threatens to file a lawsuit if Jovanovic doesn’t apologize", 12 January 2012; accessed 4 March 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Željko Jovanović". www.sdp.hr. Retrieved 25 November 2020.

[Bijela_pčela-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Laptošević, D. (October 2020). "Kad sam bio mali: Grand slam u školovanju" [When I was a kid: Grand Slam in Schooling]. Bijela pčela: List za svu djecu (in Serbian) (260). Rijeka: Prosvjeta: 30–31.

[2] "Vrdoljak threatens to file a lawsuit if Jovanovic doesn’t apologize", 12 January 2012; accessed 4 March 2014.

[SDP-3] "Željko Jovanović". www.sdp.hr. Retrieved 25 November 2020.

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v t e Science Ministers of Croatia
Ministers of Science (1990–2003)	Osman Muftić (1990–91) Ante Čović (1991–92) Jure Radić (1992) Ivo Sanader (1992–93) Branko Jeren (1993–95) Ivica Kostović (1995–98) Milan Ramljak (1998–99) Milena Žic-Fuchs (1999–2000) Hrvoje Kraljević (2000–02) Gvozden Flego (2002–03)
Ministers of Science, Education and Sports (2003–present)	Dragan Primorac (2003–09) Radovan Fuchs (2009–11) Željko Jovanović (2011–14) Vedran Mornar (2014–16) Predrag Šustar (2016) Pavo Barišić (2016–17) Blaženka Divjak (2017–2020) Radovan Fuchs (2020–present)