VZCZCXRO7766
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0041 0221230
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221230Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8490
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000041 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, EUR/RPM, INR/B 
NSC FOR BRAUN, OSD FOR WINTERNITZ 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR MARR HR POLITICAL PARTIES
SUBJECT: BRANKO VUKELIC, NEW DEFENSE MINISTER 
 
REF: ZAGREB 24 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Among the more controversial appointments made in 
the forming of the new Croatian government on January 12 was 
the naming of former Economy Minister Branko Vukelic as 
Croatia's new Minister of Defense.  Vukelic's tenure as 
Economy Minister was not viewed as among the more successful 
performances in the past government, and there are continuing 
efforts by the opposition to raise questions about his past 
(see below), but the former mayor of Karlovac continues to 
enjoy the support of PM Sanader.  Also critical, given the 
President of Croatia's role in defense matters, is that 
President Mesic has been publicly supportive of Vukelic as 
Def Min.  Mesic reportedly pushed to have Vukelic's 
predecessor as DefMin, Berislav Roncevic, moved from the 
Defense Ministry.  Roncevic has ended up as Interior Minister. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Vukelic began his professional career as a project 
engineer with the Karlovac-based company "EAB."  From 1991 to 
1997, he was the manager of the Karlovac branch of INA, 
Croatian Oil Industry.  He became active in politics around 
the time of Croatia's independence in 1991 and rose steadily 
through the ranks of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) 
serving as President of the HDZ branch in Karlovac from 1993, 
where he also served as member of the City Council until 
¶1997.  He was Mayor of Karlovac from 1997-2001.  In June 
2002, he was selected as Secretary General of the national 
HDZ.  Opposition politicians in Karlovac accuse Vukelic of 
being a very partisan figure who both as mayor and since made 
support for the HDZ a criteria for local government jobs and 
contracts. 
 
¶3. (SBU) After Croatia's November 2003 elections, Vukelic was 
rumored to become the Minister of Interior.  But in the weeks 
preceding his appointment, questions arose about his possible 
implication in a potential corruption case (in 2001 charges 
were pressed against him and his deputy mayor for abuse of 
authority in business and forging official documents), as 
well as rumors that alcohol had been involved in a 1997 car 
accident in which Vukelic seriously injured a pedestrian. 
These rumors apparently sidelined him for the Interior job, 
so his appointment as the Minister of Economy, Labor and 
Entrepreneurship was seen as both a surprise and a 
consolation prize. 
 
¶4. (SBU) As Economy Minister, Vukelic was generally viewed as 
a mediocre performer at best, and was largely overshadowed by 
Deputy Prime Minister Polancec as the government's chief 
economic policy maker.  (With Vukelic's move to Defense, 
Polancec will now take direct charge of the Ministry of 
Economy while also remaining Deputy PM.)  Vukelic's 
appointment as Defense Minister has drawn widespread media 
criticism and resurrection of not only the issues mentioned 
above, but questions about whether he avoided military 
service during the war and whether he had been sufficiently 
patriotic both before and during the conflict.  Sanader has 
defended the choice by arguing that Vukelic's performance at 
Economy was under-rated, and that Vukelic's greatest failing 
is that he did a poor job of promoting himself with the 
public. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In our dealings with Vukelic, we have found him open 
and seemingly well-disposed towards the U.S.  However, the 
positive statements he expressed about strengthening economic 
relations with the U.S. were never translated into specific 
actions or assistance in resolving some of the problems of 
U.S. companies. 
 
¶6. (U) Vukelic was born on March 9, 1958 in Karlovac.  He 
graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in 
Zagreb in 1981.  He is married to Djurdjica Vukelic.  They 
have one son.  Vukelic's hobbies are soccer, horticulture and 
music.  His official biography states that he has a passive 
knowledge of English. Conversations with the Ambassador have 
either been in Croatian or with each principal speaking in 
his own language without translation. 
BRADTKE