The Hon. Speaker Josip Leko

(Speaker, Parliament of Croatia)

Biography

The Hon. Josip Leko is a Croatian politician, part of the Social Democratic Party and the Speaker for the Croatian Parliament, essentially the President of Croatia.

Academic Career

He studied at the University of Zagreb and graduated from the Faculty of Law. He then worked as a lawyer at Slavonia Dl. In 1982 he became the Secretary of the Executive Council of New Zagreb. From 1986 to 1989 he held the position of public attorney of self-management. He then held the position of the Deputy Director-General in the renowned “Zagrepcanka.”

Political Career

He was elected as Member of Parliament in 2000 and was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Legislation for two terms. He holds the position of Speaker of the Croatian Parliament; the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament holds the responsibility of the interim President of Croatia. He has held this position since October 2012, when he succeeded Boris Sprem, who died in office. Prior to this he was the deputy Speaker from December 2011 to September 2012.

Achievements

He passed the Professional State exam in 1976, before the Commission of the Republic Secretariat for Justice and Administration. He also volunteered in 1977 at the Municipal Court in Zagreb and passed the bar exam before the Examination Commission for bar exams at the Croatian Ministry of Justice in 1993.

Keynote Address

The Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy 2014 (Berlin; November 8th, 2014)