President of the Republic Welcomes Government’s Decision to Appoint Major General Kundid Chief of the General Staff of Croatian Armed Forces, but at this Moment there Is No Agreement to Appoint Director of Security and Intelligence Agency

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović welcomes the Decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia to propose Major General Tihomir Kundid, commander of the Croatian Army, Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces. Moreover, in order to ensure the normal operation of the CAF, the President of the Republic calls upon all participants in the selection process of the Chief of the General Staff of the CAF to act urgently since the term of the current Chief of the GS of the CAF Admiral Robert Hranj expires at midnight tonight.

Given that in the context of appointing the Chief of the GS of the CAF the Prime Minister spoke today of an alleged agreement to appoint the director of the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA), we wish to inform the public that at this moment there is no agreement to appoint the SOA director. The position of the President of the Republic is that before any discussion on the name of the SOA director, a detailed analysis of SOA’s (in)action in the appointment of Ivan Turudić to the position of State Attorney-General must be carried out and, if necessary, changes should be made both in SOA’s internal organization and in the legal framework for SOA ‘s actions.

Only after carrying out the aforementioned can there be discussions on the name of the SOA director whose term expires on 6 May 2024. Such position of the President of the Republic has not only been stated publicly many times, but has also been stated clearly to representatives of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.