Cabinet of Ivica Račan I
The Seventh Government of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Sedma Vlada Republike Hrvatske) was the first of two Croatian Government cabinets led by Prime Minister Ivica Račan. It was appointed on 27 January 2000 by a decree of the Acting President of the Republic and Speaker of Parliament, Vlatko Pavletić. The cabinet was confirmed by a parliamentary vote of confidence in the Chamber of Representatives on 2 February 2000, with 122 of 151 Members of Parliament voting for, 1 against and 1 abstaining. Its term ended on 30 July 2002, when it was reconstructed and replaced by Cabinet of Ivica Račan II. The cabinet was formed following the 2000 parliamentary elections, in which the centre-right party Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) was defeated by a broad coalition of several centre-left parties. This marked an end to HDZ's dominance in Croatian politics since the first multi-party election in 1990. However, the period under Prime Minister Račan was marred with constant disagreements among coalition members, which later led to some parties leaving the ruling coalition. This ultimately paved the way for HDZ's return to power in the 2003 parliamentary elections.
First Račan Cabinet | |
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7th Cabinet of the Republic of Croatia | |
| Date formed | 27 January 2000 (Presidential decree) 2 February 2000 (Vote of confidence) |
| Date dissolved | 30 July 2002 |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of state | Vlatko Pavletić (Acting) (2000) Zlatko Tomčić (Acting) (2000) Stjepan Mesić (2000–2002) |
| Head of government | Ivica Račan |
| Deputy head of government | Željka Antunović, Slavko Linić, Goran Granić (2000–02), and Dražen Budiša (2002) |
| No. of ministers | 22 (on 30 July 2002) |
| Ministers removed | 7 |
| Total no. of members | 29 (including former members) |
| Member parties | Social Democratic Party Croatian Social Liberal Party Croatian Peasant Party Croatian People's Party Istrian Democratic Assembly |
| Status in legislature | Majority coalition government |
| Opposition party | Croatian Democratic Union |
| Opposition leader | Ivo Sanader |
| History | |
| Election(s) | 3 January 2000 |
| Legislature term(s) | 2000–2003 |
| Predecessor | Cabinet of Zlatko Mateša |
| Successor | Cabinet of Ivica Račan II |
Politics of Croatia |
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Parties included in the original coalition and their quotas:
- Social Democratic Party (SDP) – 11 seats in cabinet (PM, 2 Deputy PM's and 8 ministers)
- Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) – 5 seats in the cabinet (1 Deputy PM and 4 ministers)
- Croatian People's Party (HNS) – 1 seat in the cabinet (1 minister)
- Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) – 3 seats in the cabinet (3 ministers)
- Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS) – 1 seat in the cabinet (1 minister)
- Liberal Party (LS) – 1 seat in the cabinet (1 minister)
This was the last cabinet to hold office under a relatively powerful semi-presidential system (at times more resembling a superpresidential system), as constitutional changes implemented by the new center-left government shifted considerable political power and authority away from the President of the Republic towards the prime minister and his government cabinet as a whole. However, the new parliamentary system retains the direct election of the President by universal suffrage (rather than a president who would be elected by parliament) and can therefore be considered to be an incomplete one.