Siniša Hajdaš Dončić ( né Hajdaš; born 29 June 1974) is a Croatian politician serving as president of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP), and as

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

, since September 2024. He previously served as Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure from 2012 to 2016 in the Cabinet of Zoran Milanović. Before that, he served as

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

Krapina-Zagorje County Krapina-Zagorje County (, ) is a county in northern Croatia, bordering Slovenia. It encompasses most of the historic region called Hrvatsko Zagorje. The area contains the excavation site of a 100,000-year-old Neanderthal man in caves near the ...

in northern Croatia from 2009 to 2012.

Early life and education

Hajdaš Dončić was born in the small town of Zabok,

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 ...

, in modern-day Croatia, on 29 June 1974. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Business (EFZG) 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 1999. He finished postgraduate studies in 2002, and defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of Split in 2012.

Career

Hajdaš Dončić has been a lecturer at the

Professional Business School of Higher Education LIBERTAS A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

and at the college for business and management

Baltazar Adam Krčelić Baltazar Adam Krčelić (5 February 1715 – 29 March 1778) was a Croatian historian, theologian and lawyer. After Vitezović, he was the most prominent figure in the Croatian cultural life of the time. Biography He was born in Šenkovec near Za ...

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 2002. From 2002 until 2006, he was head of the department for economy, agriculture and tourism at

. According to his personal website, he joined SDP in 2005. He later served as Prefect of the Krapina-Zagorje County between June 2009 and April 2012. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Hajdaš Dončić served as Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure in the Cabinet of Zoran Milanović from April 2012 until January 2016. In September 2024, he became president of the SDP, succeeding Peđa Grbin as

as well.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hajdas Doncic, Sinisa 1974 births Living people People from Zabok Social Democratic Party of Croatia politicians Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb alumni Government ministers of Croatia Infrastructure ministers of Croatia Transport ministers of Croatia Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament Prefects of counties in Croatia