President Milanović Takes Oath of Office for his Second Five-Year Term as President of the Republic of Croatia
Today, the President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović took the oath of office for his second five-year term as president of the Republic of Croatia. At the inaugural ceremony in the Office of the President of the Republic, President Milanović took his oath of office before the president of the Constitutional Court.
“I swear on my honour that I will execute the Office of President of the Republic of Croatia conscientiously and responsibly for the well-being of the Croatian people and all Croatian citizens. As head of state, I will abide by the Constitution and the law, ensure respect for the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of Croatia, oversee the proper and fair functioning of all state authorities, protect the independence, the existence and the unity of the Republic of Croatia. So help me God,” President Milanović swore and then signed the oath.
At the beginning of the ceremony, President Milanović inspected the ceremonial formation of the Honorary and Protection Battalion, and entered the Stateroom accompanied by his spouse Sanja Musić Milanović where one hundred and twelve guests were in attendance. The guests included former presidents of the Republic Stjepan Mesić, Ivo Josipović and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, four Deputy Speakers of the Croatian Parliament, commanders of the Croatian Armed Forces headed by the Chief of the General Staff of the CAF Lieutenant General Tihomir Kundid, heads of security and intelligence agencies, representatives of religious communities, the Apostolic nuncio to the Republic of Croatia, the president of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee, the president of the Croatian Journalists’ Association, presidents of political parties that endorsed President Milanović in the election campaign, members of the team who ran the election campaign, officials of the Office of the President of the Republic, Homeland War generals and members of the President’s family and friends.
The ceremony began with the Croatian national anthem performed by the Croatian Navy Klapa “Sveti Juraj”, and, following the oath-taking ceremony, President Milanović delivered his inaugural address. The primary task of state institutions is, as he stressed, to preserve the peace and security of citizens in order to ensure that difficult times are not dramatic, and that they not weigh heaviest on the weakest and least protected, and that good years should not benefit only those closest to the centres of power. He also emphasized that “only and exclusively we care about our country” and that we should stop getting carried away with illusions that someone from outside will take care of us when times are tough.
Referring to the global crisis, he said: “It is up to us to devise a national policy that will best serve our interests in this new world, this new paradigm; peace, security and dignity of the Croatian people cannot and will not be sacrificed for anyone’s private ambitions or fixations.” In his inaugural address, President Milanović also underlined that the Croatian Army must be capable to stop attacks against sovereignty and territorial integrity, and fulfil all undertaken obligations.
The inaugural ceremony featured the following perfomers: Sinjska klapa sang the song “Cetina“, Klapa Trogir sang “Bodulska balada“, Chriztel Renae Aceveda sang the song “Dej mi, Bože, oči sokolove”, and the LADO Ensemble performed fragments from “Slavonske kraljice” and the song “Cviće moje”.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta, Filip Glas, Dario Andrišek, Marko Beljan