President Milanović Signs Decisions on Appointment and Assignment of Officers to Command Staff Positions in the Croatian Armed Forces
On the basis of the previously reached agreement on appointments to open and unfilled command staff positions in the Croatian Armed Forces and following the discussions and an agreement between the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković yesterday in Sinj, President Milanović today signed the decisions on the appointment and assignment of officers to command staff positions in the Croatian Armed Forces.
Major General Krešo Tuškan is assigned to the post of Director of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Major General Slaven Zdilar is appointed to the post of Commander of the Dr. Franjo Tuđman Croatian Defence Academy, Major General Denis Tretinjak is assigned to the post of Chief of the Operations Directorate in the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Commodore Milan Blažević is appointed to the post of Commander of the Croatian Coast Guard, Brigadier General Ivan Zelić is assigned to the post of Chief of the Personnel Directorate in the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces (until 31 December 2023), Colonel Jozo Matković is assigned to the post of Chief of the Logistics Directorate in the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Colonel Mirko Stošić is appointed to the post of Commander of the Croatian Army Guards Mechanized Brigade, and Colonel Tihomir Zebec is appointed to the post of Commander of the Honorary and Protection Battalion of the Croatian Armed Forces.
The President of the Republic today also co-signed – with the Croatian Prime Minister as the co-signer – the proposal for nominating the candidate, General Ivan Turkalj, for the Director of the Military Security and Intelligence Agency (VSOA), which will be forwarded to the Domestic Policy and National Security Committee of the Croatian Parliament to give its opinion on the candidate.
Furthermore, the President of the Republic will also sign the other previously agreed appointments to military posts that are unfilled or will become vacant due to the aforementioned appointments of commanders in the Croatian Armed Forces, as soon as the Minister of Defense carries out the formal candidate selection procedure for these previously agreed appointment proposals. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković assured President Milanović during yesterday’s conversation that the Minister of Defense will fulfil his obligation regarding the previously agreed appointment proposals and that the procedures for nominating the Croatian military attaché to NATO and the EU, and for appointing the Deputy Director of the Centre for Security Cooperation (RACVIAC), will be carried out as soon as possible.
The President of the Republic, who as the Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces is responsible for the defense of the Republic of Croatia and for the functioning of the security system, firmly stands on the point of view that appointment to positions in the Croatian Armed Forces must be done in a systematic and planned manner, taking into account all the components of the system.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan