Zagreb (AFP) – Croatia’s first female president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic pledged to help kickstart the country’s ailing economy as she was sworn into office on Sunday.
The 46-year-old conservative former foreign minister and NATO official narrowly defeated her left-wing predecessor Ivo Josipovic in an election run-off in January.
“I will be a top economic diplomat of our country,” she said in her inaugural speech, vowing to do her utmost “to make Croatia a wealthy nation”.
“Almost two years of (EU) membership, I would like us all to eventually start to live the life of a European Union member,” Grabar-Kitarovic said at the open-air ceremony in the old quarter of Zagreb.
