Boris Šprem (14 April 1956 – 30 September 2012) was a Croatian politician who was the

speaker of the Croatian Parliament The speaker of the Croatian Parliament (, literally the president of the Croatian Parliament) is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer in the Croatian Parliament, Croatia's legislative body. Under Article 97 of the constitution of Croatia, ...

from 2011 to 2012. He was the first and to date only speaker to die in office since country's independence in 1991.

Early life and education

Šprem was born in

Koprivnica Koprivnica () is a city in Northern Croatia, located 70 kilometers northeast of Zagreb. It is the capital and the largest city of Koprivnica-Križevci County. In 2011, the city's administrative area of 90.94 km2 had a total populati ...

, Croatia (then

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

), on 14 April 1956. He studied law at the

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 ...

Political career

Šprem served as Chief of Staff of the Office of the

President of the Republic The President of the Republic is a title used for heads of state and/or heads of government in countries having republican form of government. Designation In most cases the president of a republic is elected, either: * by direct universal s ...

from 2005 to 2007, during the second term of

Stjepan Mesić Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić (; born 24 December 1934) is a Croatia, Croatian lawyer and politician who served as the president of Croatia from 2000 to 2010. Before serving two five-year terms as president, he was Prime Minister of Croatia, prime minis ...

, and he was the

Speaker of the Croatian Parliament The speaker of the Croatian Parliament (, literally the president of the Croatian Parliament) is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer in the Croatian Parliament, Croatia's legislative body. Under Article 97 of the constitution of Croatia, ...

from 2011 to 2012. Šprem also served as the president of the city council of

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

and was a member of parliament of

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SDP). His term as Speaker began on 22 December 2011 after SDP won the 2011 general election.

Death and funeral

Šprem was first diagnosed with cancer in 2010. In June 2012, Šprem underwent surgery at the Zagreb Clinical Centre due to the recurrence of

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...

lesions. He went to Houston for further treatment on 23 August 2012. He died on 30 September 2012 at

MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center and autonomous university of the University of Texas System in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the wo ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, U.S., where he had been undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma. He is the first Speaker of the Croatian Parliament to die in office. He was succeeded in an acting capacity by his deputy Josip Leko, who had been acting Speaker since Šprem left for the U.S. in 2012. Leko was later also elected as the 9th Speaker of Parliament, on 10 October 2012. Šprem's remains arrived in Zagreb on a regular flight from

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany, on 3 October. On 4 October, the mourning began with a ceremonial session of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, with Šprem's family, as well as former

Prime Ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...

, Ministers, Parliament members and key religious figures attending. Prime Minister

Zoran Milanović Zoran Milanović (; born 30 October 1966) is a Croatia, Croatian politician and the incumbent president of Croatia. First elected in 2020, he was re-elected in 2025 with 74% voter support. Prior to assuming the presidency, he was the prime min ...

and Šprem's mother, son and wife then went to

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, ), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery (), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members of all religious groups: Catholic, Orthodox, M ...

, as part of a procession, where the last respects were paid. A gun salute was then given by members of the

Croatian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia () are the national military forces of Croatia. The Croatian military consists of three service branches: the Croatian Army, the Croatian Navy and the Croatian Air Force. The OSRH is headed by the ...

. Although he was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

during the most of his life, during his sickness he turned into religious

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He requested last rite and to be buried with Catholic rite. Boris Šprem was posthumously honoured with the Grand Order of Queen Jelena with Sash and Morning Star medal () by the President of Croatia

Ivo Josipović Ivo Josipović (; born 28 August 1957) is a Croatia, Croatian Academic staff, academic, jurist, composer, and politician who served as the president of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communist ...

Reactions

A day of national mourning was declared following the death of Šprem in Croatia. On 1 October 2012, European Parliament President

Martin Schulz Martin Schulz (born 20 December 1955) is a German politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany from 1994 to 2017 and a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. During his tenure he was Leader of the Progress ...

issued a statement on Šprem's death, sending his condolences to his family, friends and the Croatian nation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprem, Boris 1956 births 2012 deaths Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United States Social Democratic Party of Croatia politicians Speakers of the Croatian Parliament Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb alumni People from Koprivnica Deaths from cancer in Texas Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery