Damir Krstičević
Damir Krstičević | |
---|---|
![]() Krstičević in September 2011 | |
Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia | |
In office 19 October 2016 – 8 May 2020 | |
Prime Minister | Andrej Plenković |
Preceded by | Božo Petrov |
Succeeded by | Tomo Medved |
Minister of Defence | |
In office 19 October 2016 – 8 May 2020 | |
Prime Minister | Andrej Plenković |
Preceded by | Josip Buljević |
Succeeded by | Mario Banožić |
Personal details | |
Born | Vrgorac, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia | 1 July 1969
Political party | Croatian Democratic Union |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | Croatian Army |
Rank | Major general |
Commands | 4th Guards Brigade |
Battles/wars | Croatian War of Independence |
Damir Krstičević (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [dȁmīr kȑstičević]; born 1 July 1969) is a Croatian general and politician who served as the Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister from 2016 until his resignation in May 2020, which he tendered due to the deaths of two Croatian military pilots in an aircraft accident.
Biography
Krstičević was born on July 1, 1969 in Vrgorac, Split-Dalmatia County in SFR Yugoslavia. Since his childhood, he knew he wanted to be a soldier.[citation needed] He finished military high school in Sarajevo. Upon graduating from the Military Academy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia broke up. He joined the Croatian National Guard in the summer of 1991.[1] He was assigned to the 4th Guards Brigade where he eventually rose to the position of the brigade's commander.
After the war, in 1997, he was sent to continue his education at United States Army War College, and finished with excellent grades.[2]
In 2000 he was one of the signatories of the Twelve Generals' Letter, which resulted in Krstičević's retiring by then Croatian president Stjepan Mesić.[3] He then worked as a manager, ceo, procurator and member of the supervisory board in computer software developing companies M SAN and King ICT.[4]
In 2007, he survived a helicopter crash in Vukovar, which damaged his spine.[5]
After HDZ won the Croatian parliamentary elections in 2016, and Andrej Plenković became the new Croatian Prime Minister, Krstičević was assigned to the position of Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence.[6]
In January 2018 he was inducted into the U.S. Army War College Hall of Fame.[7]
In 2018 he drew criticism for praising Operation Medak Pocket saying it was 'something to be proud of' despite the fact that Serb civilians were unlawfully killed, in addition he faced heavy criticism for legitimizing the presence of convicted war criminal Mirko Norac at an anniversary 'commemorating' the attack.[8]
See also
References
- CV on the Ministry of Defence website (accessed 12 December 2016)
- ^ "Damir Krstičević: Zabranili su mi da budem vojnik, ono jedino što sam u životu želio biti" (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-02-03.
- ^ "Krstičević odgovorio na optužbe o plagiranju: Ponosan sam do boli, bio je to običan seminarski rad". Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-02-03.
- ^ "Damir Krstičević: Zabranili su mi da budem vojnik, ono jedino što sam u životu želio biti" (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-02-03.
- ^ "Evo koliko je težak Damir Krstičević". tportal.hr. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
- ^ "Krstičević: Za sekundu smo bili na tlu. Još osjećam posljedice" (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-02-03.
- ^ "RADI SE O STRUČNOM TIMU Ovo su ministri u Vladi Andreja Plenkovića". Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-02-03.
- ^ Ćosić, Mirko. "Minister Krstičević inducted War College Hall of Fame - Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia". www.morh.hr. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
- ^ "Croatian War Criminal's Memorial Appearance Condemned". Balkan Insight. 2018-09-10. Retrieved 2019-06-05.