Željka Antunović

Željka Antunović
Leader of the Opposition (Acting)
In office 11 April 2007 – 2 June 2007
Prime Minister	Ivo Sanader
Preceded by	Ivica Račan
Succeeded by	Zoran Milanović
9th Minister of Defence of Croatia
In office 30 July 2002 – 23 December 2003
Prime Minister	Ivica Račan
Preceded by	Jozo Radoš
Succeeded by	Berislav Rončević
President of the Social Democratic Party (Acting)
In office 11 April 2007 – 2 June 2007
Preceded by	Ivica Račan
Succeeded by	Zoran Milanović
Personal details
Born	(1955-09-15) 15 September 1955 Virovitica, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Croat
Political party	Social Democrats of Croatia (1990–1994) Social Democratic Party (1994–present)
Alma mater	University of Zagreb

Željka Antunović (Croatian pronunciation: [ʒɛ̂ːʎka antǔːnɔʋit͡ɕ]) (born September 15, 1955) is a former Croatian centre-left politician and the deputy president of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the largest opposition party in Croatia. She also served as Minister of Defence from 2002 until 2003. She was the first and so far only female holder of the office.

Antunović was born in Virovitica, Croatia, then SFR Yugoslavia. She entered the political scene in 1990 when she joined the Social Democrats of Croatia (SDH), a centre-left party - formed after establishment of democracy across Yugoslavia - and originally a major rival of the SDP, who had in turn recently succeeded the League of Communists of Croatia. However, following disastrous results of the SDH in parliamentary elections, the party accepted the SDP's offer of unification, which occurred in 1994. Antunović, together with Antun Vujić, gradually rose through the ranks of SDP.

Antunović has served as a member of Croatian Parliament from 1995 to 1999, and from 2003 onwards. At the party conference in 2000, she was elected as a deputy president of SDP. Between 2000 and 2003, she served as a deputy Prime Minister and was named the first woman to hold the portfolio of Defence in the second cabinet of Ivica Račan, serving from 2002 until the end of the cabinet's term in 2003.

On January 31, 2007, Ivica Račan announced that he was temporarily leaving politics due to health reasons. Antunović then took over the chairmanship of the Party; and on April 11, following further deterioration in Račan's health, he resigned as leader of the party, leaving Antunović as head of the SDP until the next party convention.

Antunović ran for president at the party convention on June 2, 2007, together with Milan Bandić, Zoran Milanović and Tonino Picula. She was defeated by Milanović in the second round of voting.

After her retirement from politics, she started a consulting company. She took part in the Ivo Josipović's campaign for the Croatian presidential election, 2014–15.

External links

• Željka Antunović at the Social Democratic Party of Croatia official website (Croatian)
• Željka Antunović at the Council of Europe website