Topic: Stjepan Mesic

Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić (Croatian pronunciation: ) (born December 24, 1934) is a Croatian politician and the outgoing President of Croatia. He had previously held the posts of the Prime Minister of Croatia, President of the Croatian Parliament, Mayor of Orahovica, the final president of SFR Yugoslavia, Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement, and judge in Našice.

Mesić was a deputy in the Croatian Parliament in the 1960s, and was then absent from politics until 1990 when he joined the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), and was named the Prime Minister after HDZ won in the elections. He was elected as the Croatian member of the Yugoslav Federal Presidency where he served first as Vice President and then in 1991 as the last President of SFR Yugoslavia.

After Yugoslavia disintegrated, Mesić served as President of the Croatian Parliament from 1992 to 1994, when he left HDZ over disagreements about Croatian policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. With several other members of parliament, he formed a new party - Croatian Independent Democrats (HND). In 1997 the majority of HND members, including Mesić, merged into the Croatian People's Party (HNS).