Božo Petrov

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Božo Petrov
BozoPetrov.jpg
Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia
Assumed office
22 January 2016
Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković
Preceded by Branko Grčić, Ranko Ostojić and Milanka Opačić
Mayor of Metković
In office
2 June 2013 – 22 January 2016
Preceded by Stipo Gabrić
Succeeded by Katarina Ujdar
Personal details
Born (1979-10-16) 16 October 1979 (age 44)
Metković, Yugoslavia
(now Croatia)
Political party Bridge of Independent Lists
(2012–present)
Spouse(s) Maša Petrov
Children Jakov
Dominik
Andrija
Alma mater University of Mostar
Religion Roman Catholicism

Božo Petrov (Croatian pronunciation: [ˌbǒːʒo ˈpětroʋ]) (born 16 October 1979)[1] is a Croatian politician and psychiatrist who serves as Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet of Tihomir Orešković since 22 January 2016. Petrov is the former mayor of Metković.[2][3] He is the leader of Bridge of Independent Lists party.

Early life and family

Petrov was born in Metković on October 16, 1979 to locksmith Jakov Petrov and Marija Petrov, a bookkeeper. He has an elder sister, Nikolina, and two younger brothers, Branimir and Ivan.[4] Petrov attended elementary school in his hometown and high school (classical (Christian) gymnasium) in Sinj. At age 14 he decided to join the Franciscan order, but eventually changed his mind.[5]

Petrov graduated from the Medical Faculty of the University of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and specialized psychiatry in the Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče in Zagreb, after which he worked as a psychiatrist at the University Clinical Hospital in Mostar.[6][7] He is married to Maša Petrov, a primary school teacher with whom he has three children.

Political career

Petrov began his political career as an independent candidate on the list of the conservative Croatian Growth (HRAST) party because he wanted to fight against SDP-HDZ political duopoly. He eventually ended his collaboration with HRAST because "they betrayed its members and sided with the HDZ" which he didn't approve.[8]

On 17 November 2012, Petrov and other people who have never actively participated in political life founded the Bridge of Independent Lists as a regionalist political platform, of which he is the first president.[9]

In 2013 Bridge of Independent Lists participated in the local elections in the town of Metković. The party won 46.25% of votes, and 9 out of 17 seats in the City Council. Turnout was 67,49%.[10] Božo Petrov won 45.78% of the votes and entered the second round of elections for the Mayor against Stipe Gabrić Jambo, incumbent mayor since 1997. In the second round Petrov won with 67.94% of the votes and became the mayor of Metković. At the same election, Bridge of Independent Lists won 9.97% of the vote in county elections and entered the County Assembly of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County.[11]

As a mayor, Petrov cut his and the city councillors' wage to the minimum. Finding a city debt of 17.6 million, he managed to bring it down by 6.4 million, or 36%. His deputies work as volunteers, while the councillors' fees amount to a symbolic 1 HRK. Petrov abolished also the compensation to the members of supervisory boards and management councils, and representation expenses decreased by 10 times and travel costs by 8 times. He also terminated several expensive public contracts, and introduced transparency in public spending. His work to sanitize the city's budget got him to be declared the best mayor in the region.[12] After having halved the city debt, he increased the salaries of the city administration, but they remained 30% lower than they were at the time he took office as mayor.[13]

For the 2015 parliamentary elections, his Most party went national and was joined by independent local politicians from other parts of the country. Led by Petrov, the party campaigned for fiscal responsibility, reduction of government spending and public debt, tax cuts, reforms in the public sector and the reduction of administrative divisions in Croatia.[14][15] Petrov's party turned out the surprise of the election, with 13.17% of the votes and the kingmaker, with 19 seats at the Sabor. After more than 40 days of negotiations and numerous twists, MOST decided to give its support to a government led by the HDZ, giving them a slim majority of 78 seats. They nominated the Croatian-Canadian businessman Tihomir Orešković to be the next Prime Minister.[16][17]

References

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  10. ↑ [1][dead link]
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Milan Šutalo: Božo Petrov – hrvatski političar za kakvim vape u BiH. Deutsche Welle, 14. veljače 2014. Pristupljeno 2. veljače 2015.
  13. ↑ Hrvoje Prnjak: Petrov stvara koaliciju nezavisnih: Mogu biti premijer, ali ću predložiti drugoga. Slobodna Dalmacija, 2. veljače 2015. Pristupljeno 2. veljače 2015.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Tihomir Orešković to Be Named as Croatian Prime Minister-Designate, Total Croatia News, 23 December 2015.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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