Anja Šimpraga ( sr-Cyrl, Ања Шимпрага; born 23 July 1987) is a Croatian politician serving as a

Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia The deputy prime minister of Croatia (officially the Vice President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, ) is the official deputy of the Prime Minister of Croatia. Article 109 of the Constitution of Croatia states that the cabinet is t ...

and a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

in charge of social affairs and human and minority rights from 2022 to 2024. Previously, she served as a member of the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

from 2020 to 2022. An ethnic

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

, Šimpraga is a member of the

Independent Democratic Serb Party The Independent Democratic Serb Party ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Самостална демократска српска странка, Samostalna demokratska srpska stranka, SDSS) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia representing the interes ...

(SDSS).

Biography

Šimpraga was born on 23 July 1987 in

Knin Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...

, in the

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. During the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

, Knin was controlled by the separatist

Republic of Serbian Krajina The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Република Српска Крајина, Republika Srpska Krajina, separator=" / ", ; abbr. РСК / RSK), known as the Serbian Krajina ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српск� ...

until the

Operation Storm Operation Storm ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Operacija Oluja, separator=" / ", Операција Олуја) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory f ...

in 1995 when the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...

regained control of Knin and the rest of Krajina. Following the operation, Šimpraga became a refugee, fleeing Knin to

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

with her family. Šimpraga later returned to Croatia and became a member of the

(SDSS) at the age of 18. She graduated at the Faculty of Agriculture,

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

and later obtained a degree in food technology from the Marko Marulić Polytechnic University in Knin. From 2016 to 2020, Šimpraga was the deputy

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of the

Šibenik-Knin County Šibenik-Knin County (; ) is a county in southern Croatia, located in the north-central part of Dalmatia. The biggest city in the county is Šibenik, which also serves as county seat. Other notable towns in the county are Knin, Vodice, Drniš a ...

. She was sworn in as a member of the

following the appointment of SDSS MP Boris Milošević as a government minister. On 31 July 2020, five days before the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Knin and the

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

, Šimpraga spoke in front of the Parliament about her experience as an eight-year-old in the column of Operation Storm refugees. Due to the lack of discourse in Croatia on civilian Serb victims of Operation Storm, Šimpraga's speech was widely dubbed "important", "powerful" and "historical". On 29 April 2022, Šimpraga was appointed a

deputy prime minister of Croatia The deputy prime minister of Croatia (officially the Vice President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, ) is the official deputy of the Prime Minister of Croatia. Article 109 of the Constitution of Croatia states that the cabinet is t ...

and a

in charge of social affairs and human and minority rights, succeeding Milošević who once again became an MP.

Personal life

Šimpraga is married and lives in Radučić.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpraga, Anja 1987 births Living people People from Knin Serbs of Croatia Yugoslav Wars refugees 21st-century Croatian women politicians Independent Democratic Serb Party politicians Deputy prime ministers of Croatia Government ministers of Croatia