Stjepan Mesić (Yugoslavian Federation)

Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈstjɛpaːn ˈmɛːsitɕ]; born December 24, 1934) is Croatian/Yugoslavian politician, 1st President of Yugoslavian federation. Before his eight-year presidency, he held the posts of Prime Minister of, Mayor of Orahovica, Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement, and judge in Našice. Mesić was a deputy in the Croatian Parliament in the 1960s, and was then absent from politics until 1990 when he joined the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), and was named the Prime Minister after HDZ won in the elections. He was elected as the Croatian member of the Yugoslav Federal Presidency where he served first as Vice President and then in 1991 as the last President of Yugoslavia. After Yugoslavia disintegrated, Mesić served as President of the Croatian Parliament from 1992 to 1994, when he left HDZ. With several other members of parliament, he formed a new party - Croatian Independent Democrats (HND). In 1997 the majority of HND members, including Mesić, merged into the Croatian People's Party (HNS). After Franjo Tuđman died in December 1999, he was elected in two rounds to be the President of the Republic of Croatia in February 2000. He was re-elected in January 2005 for a second term. As an opposition of Tuđman's personality, Mesić has many times been voted as the most popular politician in Croatia. However, in none of the polls has he reached Tuđman's percentage of popularity.