51 Facts About Ivo Sanader

Ivo Sanader is currently serving a 18-year prison sentence for corruption in Lipovica prison.

Ivo Sanader is one of only two Croatian prime ministers who have served more than one term, winning the general elections in 2003 and 2007.

Ivo Sanader is, along with Ivica Racan and Plenkovic, one of the three prime ministers who have been at the head of more than one government cabinet, chairing his first cabinet from 23 December 2003 until 12 January 2008, and his second cabinet from 12 January 2008 until his resignation on 6 July 2009.

Ivo Sanader obtained his education in comparative literature in Austria, where he worked as a journalist, in marketing, publishing, and as an entrepreneur.

Ivo Sanader fled the country but was apprehended in Austria and extradited to Croatia in July 2011.

In October 2018, Ivo Sanader was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for war profiteering and ordered to return $570,000 in kickbacks from Hypo Bank.

Ivo Sanader was born in Split to a poor, religious, working-class family originating from Dugobabe, a village in the Split hinterland.

Ivo Sanader was one of five children so, as his family was financially unable to support their education, his mother asked the rector of the Archbishopric Classical Gymnasium to accept Ivo as a student.

At the gymnasium, Ivo Sanader distinguished himself as one of the top students, excelling in history and languages.

Ivo Sanader's wife studied archaeology, while Ivo studied comparative literature and Romance languages at the University of Innsbruck.

In 1982, Ivo Sanader received his PhD degree, and returned to Croatia with his wife.

Ivo Sanader found a job in the marketing department of Dalmacijaturist, for a brief period, followed by a lengthy period at the publishing house Logos from 1983, initially as a program editor.

In 1987, Ivo Sanader decided to return to Austria with his family, where he co-founded two businesses, one in 1989 which was liquidated by a court in 1992, while the other existed between 1986 and 2001.

Failure of his businesses prompted Ivo Sanader to enter politics in the 1990s.

Ivo Sanader decided to return to Split, over the objections of his wife who saw war in Croatia looming.

Ivo Sanader used his negotiation skills to bring people to the Croatian Democratic Union from other Croatian parliamentary parties.

Ivo Sanader criticised Ivica Racan and his cabinet's stance towards the ICTY.

Ivo Sanader gradually began to distance the party and himself from the protests, softening his criticism towards the government.

Ivo Sanader focused his efforts on transforming the HDZ into a modern pro-European right-of-center party.

Ivo Sanader, who was supported by Vladimir Seks and convicted war criminal Branimir Glavas, managed to win his second mandate.

Ivo Sanader was later accused by Ivan Drmic, a former member of the Croatian Democratic Union, for rigging the presidential election at the 5th convention of the Croatian Democratic Union.

Ivo Sanader was able to concentrate on defeating Ivica Racan and his left-of-centre coalition at the 2003 parliamentary elections.

Ivo Sanader's HDZ sought to establish better relations with minority parties and to promote minority rights.

Ivo Sanader was the last statesman to visit Pope John Paul II in Vatican City, in February 2005, a few weeks before his death on 2 April 2005.

In October 2005, following the formal start of EU accession negotiations, opinion polls showed Ivo Sanader to be the most popular Croatian politician.

Former Minister of Justice Vesna Skare-Ozbolt in the Ivo Sanader government was the one who reported Ivo Sanader to a resolution council for conflict of interests.

Ivo Sanader's government was challenged by the rising tide of Euroscepticism in the country.

In July 2006, Ivo Sanader was named in the "Verona Affair", accused by the opposition in the Croatian parliament for fixing the sale of pharmaceutical company Pliva to Barr Pharmaceuticals from the US.

Nacional, an independent political weekly, reported Ivo Sanader was a part of two bankrupt businesses in Austria, and received bribes in 1995 and 1996 from a tycoon amounting to 800,000 DEM.

On 1 July 2009, Ivo Sanader announced his resignation as the Prime Minister and Leader of the HDZ, as well as his complete withdrawal from all active politics, adding that he does not intend to return.

Ivo Sanader announced that his prime minister-designate would be deputy Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor.

Ivo Sanader was elected Honorary President of the HDZ for life.

At the September 2009 Global Creative Economic Summit, Ivo Sanader discussed Croatia's shift from a heavily controlled economy to a bustling "knowledge-based" economy.

Ivo Sanader was supported by a dozen HDZ MPs, including Luka Bebic, but none of the members of the Government.

Several of those MPs later disclaimed any association with Ivo Sanader and claimed they were misled.

On 4 January 2010, following an entire day of meetings of HDZ leadership, Ivo Sanader was expelled from the Croatian Democratic Union.

In October 2010, Ivo Sanader reactivated his parliamentary seat and regained parliamentary immunity.

Ivo Sanader was arrested near Salzburg, Austria on 10 December 2010.

Ivo Sanader is alleged to have received nearly $695,000 for arranging a loan from the Austrian Hypo Bank in 1995, launching accusations of war profiteering, and of receiving 10 million euros in bribes from the CEO of the Hungarian oil company MOL, Zsolt Hernadi, to secure MOL a dominant position in the Croatian oil company INA.

Ivo Sanader's rescheduled court hearing took place in December 2011 and he was released on bail of $2.2 million on 16 December 2011.

In January 2012, it was announced that Ivo Sanader was facing a new set of corruption charges.

In May 2012, it was announced that Ivo Sanader could be indicted again on corruption offences.

In September 2012, A fifth indictment was filed against Ivo Sanader for damaging the state budget by 26 million kuna.

Ivo Sanader was indicted five times in total; in Fimi Media, Planinska, INA-MOL, Hypo and HEP cases.

On 20 November 2012, Ivo Sanader was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a first-degree verdict for Hypo and INA-MOL cases.

Ivo Sanader was the highest official in Croatia to be convicted of corruption.

Ivo Sanader denied wrongdoing and stated that his trial was politically motivated.

The judge, Ivan Turudic, said that Ivo Sanader had disgraced Croatia, adding that he had used his office for his own personal enrichment and not for the common good.

Ivo Sanader was transferred from the court to the Remetinec prison.

On that occasion, president Ivo Josipovic described Sanader's involvement in MOL's acquisition of INA as "high treason".

On 15 July 2014, President Ivo Josipovic revoked all of Sanader's national decorations following the final judgment by the Supreme Court by which he was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 8 years and 6 months due to his corruption while he served as Prime Minister.