Croatia Celebrates Statehood Day Today

(Patria) - Croatia is celebrating Statehood Day today, the 35th anniversary of the constitution of the first democratic and multi-party Parliament.

On this day, May 30, 1990, after decades of communist rule, the foundations of the modern Parliament were laid and its historical role in preserving Croatian statehood was confirmed.

On the eve of the first parliamentary session, a large number of deputies attended a holy mass in Zagreb Cathedral, led by Franjo Tuđman.

Cardinal Franjo Kuharić expressed his wishes for the future of the Croatian people with moral, cultural, and economic progress.

On May 30, the Parliament chamber was too small for all the deputies and guests. In the working part of the session, the Commission for Elections and Appointments was first elected, headed by Ivan Milas, on whose proposal the leadership of the first multi-party parliament was elected.

Žarko Domljan was elected president, and Ivica Percan, Stjepan Sulimanac, and Vladimir Šeks were elected vice-presidents. Stjepan Mesić was elected president of the Executive Council, and Tuđman was elected president of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Croatia.

The first convocation of the Parliament had 351 deputies and three councils: the Council of Municipalities, the Council of Associated Labour, and the Socio-Political Council.

The HDZ held the majority of mandates, 207 out of 351, while the second largest party was the League of Communists of Croatia - Party of Democratic Change, which had 107 mandates.

The Coalition of National Accord had 21 mandates, the Serb Democratic Party had five, while 13 mandates went to independent deputies and deputies of national minorities.

In its first convocation, the Parliament made historic decisions on Croatian sovereignty and independence, as well as on the termination of state-legal ties with the former SFRY.

From 1991 to 2001, and again from 2011 to 2019, Statehood Day was celebrated on June 25. During that period, May 30 was celebrated as Croatian Parliament Day.

Statehood Day is a non-working day for most citizens of the Republic of Croatia, meaning most shops are closed on that day.