Igor Pokaz (born 23 May 1968) is a Croatian diplomat that has served as ambassador to NATO and Russia. He also served as Croatia's ambassador to the United Kingdom between September 2017 and May 2023.

Education

Pokaz has a Bachelor of Economics degree from 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 ...

and received his Master's degree in International Relations from the Global Master of Arts Program at The Fletcher School,

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

. He also attended

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

's Foreign Service Programme from 1998 to 1999.

Career

Igor Pokaz started working in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 1994. His first posting abroad was to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Croatia to the United Nations from 1999 to 2003, in the capacity of diplomatic counsellor. From 2003 to 2007, Pokaz served in the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, as the Head of Department for International Defense Cooperation and followingly as Under Secretary for Defense Policy. He briefly worked in the private sector, as Head of the Office of CEO Emil Tedeschi at

Atlantic Grupa Atlantic Grupa d.d. is a Croatian multinational company whose business operations include the production, development, sales and distribution of consumer goods with simultaneous market presence in over 40 countries around the world.Ivo Sanader Ivo Sanader (; born 8 June 1953) is a Croatian former politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009. He is currently serving a 18-year prison sentence for corruption in Lipovica penitentiary. Sanader is to date the second ...

and President

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 ...

, as he was appointed Permanent Representative to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

. The rationale behind the appointment was the key role Pokaz played in Croatia's accession to NATO, as well as his expertise on defense policy gained during his service at the Ministry of Defence. Pokaz went on to serve as Croatia's ambassador to the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

from 2012 to 2015, and served as the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 2017 until May 2023.

Personal life

Igor Pokaz is the son of retired Croatian general Ivan Pokaz. He is married and has one child. Pokaz served in 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 ...

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 ...

from 1991 to 1995. In 1992, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the Croatian Armed Forces.

References

1968 births Living people Croatian diplomats Permanent representatives of Croatia to NATO Ambassadors of Croatia to Russia Ambassadors of Croatia to the United Kingdom {{croatia-diplomat-stub