Vesna Pusic
Encyclopedia
Vesna Pusić is a member of Croatian Parliament and one of the main speakers of the opposition Croatian People's Party - Liberal Democrats
in the Parliament. Pusić is known as an outspoken liberal
, and one of the most recognizable women in Parliament.
She is currently the president of the Croatian National Committee for Tracking the Negotiations on the Accession of Croatia to the European Union
, the president of the HNS-LD parliamentary club, and the vice-president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
.
Vesna Pusić was a candidate in the Croatian presidential election, 2009–2010.
, Croatia
, Yugoslavia
to the family of Eugen Pusić
, a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb
and Višnja Pusić, a professor of English language. Her brother Zoran is known as a civil rights and peace activist.
She graduated from gymnasium
in 1971 and then from the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, sociology and philosophy, in 1976. From 1975 to 1979 she was a member of the IDE - International Research Group doing research on industrial democracy in Europe. From 1976 to 1978 she was a researcher at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Ljubljana
, Slovenia
.
Since 1978 she has been working at the Sociology Department of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb, and teaching courses in the Theory of Industrial Democracy and the Sociology of Politics. She obtained a doctorate in sociology in 1984 at the same faculty, and in 1988 she became a tenured professor.
In 1978 Pusić was one of seven women who initiated the first feminist organization in SFR Yugoslavia Žena i društvo, and was widely criticized by the authorities at the time.
Vesna Pusić was one of the 28 founding members of the Croatian People's Party (Hrvatska narodna stranka, HNS) in 1990, after participating in the Coalition of People's Accord
. She left party politics in 1992, but rejoined the same party in 1997 and was later its President between 2000 and 2008. She first entered the Parliament on the Croatian parliamentary election, 2000
.
In 1992 Pusić was the co-founder and director of the Erasmus Guild, a non-governmental, non-partisan think-tank for the culture of democracy, and the publisher and editor of the journal Erasmus, focusing specifically on different issues of transition in Croatia, countries of former Yugoslavia
and Eastern Europe
. Erasmus Guild ceased operations in 1998.
In 2005 and 2008 she was made the head of the National Committee for EU negotiations, the body that oversees accession negotiations and is composed of members of parliament as well as representatives of the President, the academic community, and employers and union representatives.
In 2006 and 2008 she was elected vice-president of ELDR
.
Pusić lectured at the University of Chicago
, at the Cornell University
(New York), and at the American University
(Washington D.C.), as well as the Wilson Center.
She lives in Zagreb
with her husband. Her daughter currently lives in London and studies MA Filmmaking at the prestigious London Film School
.
Vesna Pusić is very popular in the Croatian LGBT
community. In 2011 Zagreb Pride attenders awarded her with the "gay friendly person of the decade". She has been regular attendant at Zagreb LGBT pride
march.
In the Croatian presidential election, 2009–2010, Pusić was the HNS-LD candidate. She won 7.25% in the first round, placing fifth out of twelve candidates, and was thus eliminated from the second round.
Croatian People's Party-Liberal Democrats
The Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats is a center-left liberal party in Croatia.HNS currently has 5 representatives in the Croatian Parliament and are the fourth largest political party in Croatia and fourth in the number of representatives if the coalitions are included...
in the Parliament. Pusić is known as an outspoken liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, and one of the most recognizable women in Parliament.
She is currently the president of the Croatian National Committee for Tracking the Negotiations on the Accession of Croatia to the European Union
Accession of Croatia to the European Union
Croatia applied for European Union membership in 2003, and the European Commission recommended making it an official candidate in early 2004. Candidate country status was granted to Croatia by the European Council in mid-2004...
, the president of the HNS-LD parliamentary club, and the vice-president of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party is a European political party mainly active in the European Union, composed of 56 national-level liberal and liberal-democratic parties from across Europe...
.
Vesna Pusić was a candidate in the Croatian presidential election, 2009–2010.
Biography
Vesna Pusić was born in ZagrebZagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
to the family of Eugen Pusić
Eugen Pusic
Eugen Pusić was a professor specialized in social affairs and welfare.-Career:Pusić was born in Zagreb, where he studied at the Faculty of Law, receiving his doctorate in 1939...
, a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
and Višnja Pusić, a professor of English language. Her brother Zoran is known as a civil rights and peace activist.
She graduated from gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in 1971 and then from the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, sociology and philosophy, in 1976. From 1975 to 1979 she was a member of the IDE - International Research Group doing research on industrial democracy in Europe. From 1976 to 1978 she was a researcher at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Ljubljana
University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. With 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in Europe.-Beginnings:...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
.
Since 1978 she has been working at the Sociology Department of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb, and teaching courses in the Theory of Industrial Democracy and the Sociology of Politics. She obtained a doctorate in sociology in 1984 at the same faculty, and in 1988 she became a tenured professor.
In 1978 Pusić was one of seven women who initiated the first feminist organization in SFR Yugoslavia Žena i društvo, and was widely criticized by the authorities at the time.
Vesna Pusić was one of the 28 founding members of the Croatian People's Party (Hrvatska narodna stranka, HNS) in 1990, after participating in the Coalition of People's Accord
Coalition of People's Accord
Coalition of People's Accord was the bloc of mostly moderate nationalist and liberal parties formed on the eve of first multi-party elections in Croatia in 1990....
. She left party politics in 1992, but rejoined the same party in 1997 and was later its President between 2000 and 2008. She first entered the Parliament on the Croatian parliamentary election, 2000
Croatian parliamentary election, 2000
Elections for the Chamber of Representatives of the Croatian Parliament were held on January 3, 2000. These were the first elections to be held after the expiration of a full term of the previous Chamber....
.
In 1992 Pusić was the co-founder and director of the Erasmus Guild, a non-governmental, non-partisan think-tank for the culture of democracy, and the publisher and editor of the journal Erasmus, focusing specifically on different issues of transition in Croatia, countries of former Yugoslavia
Former Yugoslavia
The former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. Erasmus Guild ceased operations in 1998.
In 2005 and 2008 she was made the head of the National Committee for EU negotiations, the body that oversees accession negotiations and is composed of members of parliament as well as representatives of the President, the academic community, and employers and union representatives.
In 2006 and 2008 she was elected vice-president of ELDR
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party is a European political party mainly active in the European Union, composed of 56 national-level liberal and liberal-democratic parties from across Europe...
.
Pusić lectured at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, at the Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
(New York), and at the American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
(Washington D.C.), as well as the Wilson Center.
She lives in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
with her husband. Her daughter currently lives in London and studies MA Filmmaking at the prestigious London Film School
London Film School
The London Film School is a private film school in London and is situated in a converted brewery in Covent Garden, London, close to a hub of the UK film industry based in Soho. The LFS was founded in 1956 by Bob Dunbar as The London School of Film Technique...
.
Vesna Pusić is very popular in the Croatian LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community. In 2011 Zagreb Pride attenders awarded her with the "gay friendly person of the decade". She has been regular attendant at Zagreb LGBT pride
Zagreb Pride
Zagreb Pride is the annual pride march and LGBTIQ demonstration of Zagreb, Croatia, which first took place in 2002 and now occurs in June of each year, lasting for a few days. Zagreb Pride is the first successful pride march held in the Balkans, just a year after a bloody showdown at 2001 ...
march.
In the Croatian presidential election, 2009–2010, Pusić was the HNS-LD candidate. She won 7.25% in the first round, placing fifth out of twelve candidates, and was thus eliminated from the second round.