Danijela Dolenec (born 4 August 1977) is a Croatian political scientist and politician who has served as deputy mayor 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 ...

since 2021, together with

Luka Korlaet Luka Korlaet (born 14 September 1974) is a Croatian architect, urbanist and politician who has served as deputy mayor of Zagreb together with Danijela Dolenec since 2021, under mayor Tomislav Tomašević. Life Early life and education Korl ...

. A member of Zagreb is OURS! and the green-left political platform We Can!, she has been 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. ...

since 2024, but is currently being represented by her deputy Jelena Miloš.

Early life and education

Danijela Dolenec was born in 1977 in Zagreb and grew up as a punk fan in Dubrava. She graduated from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 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 ...

in 2001, with a degree in English Language and Comparative Literature. In 2000, she went to

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as part of a training program hosted by the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

. She received her first master’s degree in public policy and administration from

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

in 2005, and her second master’s degree in European studies from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Zagreb in 2007. Dolenec received her doctorate degree in political science from

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

in 2012. She went on multiple research trips to

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Universities, presenting about politics in the Balkans.

Career

From 2005 to 2022, Dolenec has been a member of the Assembly of the Institute for the Development of Education, a nonprofit advocating for universal higher education, and a member of the Supervisory board from 2005 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2018. She was also a member of the Institute for Social Research from 2005 to 2009 as a junior scientist, writing a scientific paper “The dilemma of public financing of a higher education system that strives for constant growth”. She started working at the Faculty of Political Sciences in 2009, and has since held various roles. From 2009 to 2013, she worked as junior research and teaching assistant, during which she worked on the project “European integration in higher education and research in the Western Balkans”. From 2013 to 2019, she worked as assistant professor, and from 2019 onward as associate professor. In 2013, Dolenec co-founded Group 22, a green-left organisation that researches different society models and alternatives to capitalism, and advocates for

degrowth Degrowth is an Academic research, academic and social Social movement, movement critical of the concept of economic growth, growth in Real gross domestic product, gross domestic product as a measure of Human development (economics), human and econ ...

. Dolenec was awarded the State Science Awards in 2013 by the Ministry of Education for her study on the democratization of countries in Central and Southeastern Europe in her paper “Democratic Institutions and Authoritarian Rule in South East Europe”. In 2020, she was awarded the Danubius Mid-Career Award, together with €2,200 for her work in political sciences.

Political career

Dolenec co-founded Zagreb is OURS!, a green-left political platform, in February 2017. In April, she announced her run for deputy mayor of Zagreb, together with

Urša Raukar-Gamulin Urša Raukar-Gamulin (born 18 May 1960) is a Croatian theater, television and film actress and politician who has served as member of the Croatian Parliament since 2021. She is a permanent member of the Zagreb Youth Theater ensemble. She is th ...

and

Tomislav Tomašević Tomislav Tomašević (; born 13 January 1982) is a Croatian politician, activist, environmentalist and political scientist who has served as the 53rd List of mayors of Zagreb, mayor of Zagreb since 2021. He is one of the leaders of the local Zagr ...

. The announcement was held in front of the

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 ...

headquarters, intended to send a message of dissatisfaction with the state of the party. Dolenec claimed that “SDP does not have the capacity to deal with the challenges facing the left today.” The Green-Left Coalition, which included Zagreb is OURS!, got 7.64% of the vote, winning 4 seats in the

Zagreb Assembly The City Assembly of the City of Zagreb (, short: GSGZ) is the lawmaking body of the Croatian capital of Zagreb. It consists of 47 members who were elected by universal suffrage and secret ballot at 2021 elections for a term of four years. Th ...

. Dolenec was not among the elected. In 2019, dissatisfied with the political landscape in Croatia, she co-founded the political platform We Can! in order to unite the green-left parties in Croatia. In June 2020, she ran for member of the

in the VI District, but did not get enough preferential votes to win a mandate.Dolenec ran again for deputy mayor of Zagreb in April 2021, together with

and Tomašević. We Can! got 40.83% of the vote and won 23 seats in the assembly, including Dolenec and Korlaet. After Tomašević won in the runoffs against

Miroslav Škoro Miroslav Škoro (; born 29 July 1962) is a Croatian politician, musician, TV host and former diplomat. He is the founder and the first president of the conservative Homeland Movement party, which he established in February 2020 and led until July ...

, Dolenec assumed office on 4 June. She has a focus on social policy, education, inclusion and worker relations. In 2024, Zagreb won the European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Award for its progressive social policies: supporting women, persons with disabilities,

LGBTQ people LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

, migrants and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. She was reelected as deputy mayor after the 2025 Zagreb elections. After the 2024 Croatian parliamentary elections, Dolenec was elected to the Croatian Parliament in the II District. The term began on 16 May, and her deputy, Jelena Miloš, took the seat on day one.

Personal life

Dolenec is married to Slaven Vukasović with whom she has a daughter.

References

Living people 1977 births Croatian political scientists Možemo! / We Can! politicians {{Improve categories, date=June 2025