Mate Granić (born 19 September 1947) is a Croatian diplomat, politician and physician who served as

Minister 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 foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

in the

Government of Croatia The Government of Croatia (), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia (), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government (), is the main executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the Prime Minister of Croatia, president o ...

from 1993 to 2000.

Biography

Granić was born in Baška Voda in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

(then PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia). He graduated from a gymnasium in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

and the medical faculty of 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 ...

to become a doctor by profession. He specialized in

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

and was one of the founders of the internationally recognized center for

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, the , a WHO collaborative centre. Mate Granić served as the

foreign minister 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 ...

of Croatia from 1993 until 2000. He was a member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and a close associate of

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...

. As foreign minister, in 1995 Granić helped negotiate the

Dayton Agreement The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Dejtonski mirovni sporazum, Дејтонски мировни споразум), and colloquially kn ...

, a peace treaty between Croatia,

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and

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 ...

and he visited

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 ...

in 1996. Granić was considered to be a leader of the HDZ center-reformist wing. His objective as foreign minister was to defend Croatian policies concerning its occupied territories and towards

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, as well as protecting Croatia from UN sanctions. His reformist views made him an opportunistic choice for the party's presidential candidate after the Tuđman's death. In January 2000, Granić entered the presidential election, but was eliminated in the first round, coming in third place with 22.5% of the vote. When a new cabinet took office later that month, now with the HDZ without the presidency or control of the Parliament, Granić lost his post as foreign minister. Afterwards, Granić led a splinter faction of HDZ to form the Democratic Centre (''Demokratski Centar'') as he believed that the HDZ would be completely overtaken by tudjmanists led by Ivić Pašalić, Tuđman's former advisor. However, not all reformists followed Granić, and in 2002 they finally won a bitter inner-party struggle with the tudjmanists. Granić's former protégé Ivo Sanader became the party's leader, and all that made the Democratic Centre politically indistinct from HDZ. As a result, the party barely survived the 2003 elections, securing only one parliamentary seat, for Vesna Škare-Ožbolt who later became the Minister of Justice in Sanader's government. Granić left DC and seemingly retired from public life after the election. In 2004 he founded a consulting company called MAGRA Ltd. in Zagreb. In 2005, he became a special advisor to the presidency of the

Croatian Party of Rights The Croatian Party of Rights (, HSP) is an Extra-parliamentary opposition, extra-parliamentary Croatian nationalism, nationalist and Neo-fascism, neo-fascist List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia. The word "right(s)" i ...

(HSP). In the 2007 parliamentary election he headed the HSP election list in the 3rd election unit. The list failed to attain a seat in the Parliament. In March 2020, Granić returned to the Croatian Democratic Union. Granić is married with three children. His brother Goran Granić is a prominent Croatian politician, but unlike Mate, Goran is a liberal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granic, Mate 1947 births Living people People from Baška Voda Croatian Democratic Union politicians Democratic Centre (Croatia) politicians Physicians from Split, Croatia School of Medicine, University of Zagreb alumni Academic staff of the University of Zagreb Foreign ministers of Croatia Candidates for President of Croatia Deputy prime ministers of Croatia