title: Ministry of Science and Education (Croatia)
text: # Ministry of Science and Education (Croatia)
  
  The Ministry of Science and Education of Croatia (Croatian: Ministarstvo znanosti i obrazovanja or MZO) is the ministry in the Government of Croatia which is in charge of primary, secondary and tertiary education, research institutions and sports. However, the fact that both education and sports are governed by one single body had drawn criticism from long time Croatian educators, which have the view of having the Ministry focusing on education alone.
  
  ## List of ministers
  
  The ministry in its current form came into existence in 2003 in the Cabinet of Ivo Sanader I, resulting from the merger of the earlier Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education and Sports. Both ministries had been originally formed in 1990, although they had changed forms and names several times during the 1990s. Below are lists of ministers of who headed both portfolios before the 2003 merger.
  
  ### Ministers of Science (1990–2003)
  
  From 1990 to 1992 the first three ministers held the title of Minister of Science, Technology and Informatics. In August 1992 the ministry was renamed Ministry of Science and Technology, which remained unchanged until 2003.
  
  | Minister | Party | Term start | Term end |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Osman Muftić | Ind. | 30 May 1990 | 31 July 1991 |
  | Ante Čović | Ind. | 31 July 1991 | 15 April 1992 |
  | Jure Radić | HDZ | 15 April 1992 | 12 August 1992 |
  | Ivo Sanader | HDZ | 12 August 1992 | 7 January 1993 |
  | Branko Jeren | HDZ | 23 February 1993 | 7 November 1995 |
  | Ivica Kostović | HDZ | 7 November 1995 | 14 October 1998 |
  | Milena Žic-Fuchs | Ind. | 22 February 1999 | 27 January 2000 |
  | Hrvoje Kraljević | HSLS | 27 January 2000 | 30 July 2002 |
  | Gvozden Flego | SDP | 30 July 2002 | 23 December 2003 |
  
  ### Ministers of Education (1990–2003)
  
  Between 1990 and 1993 the ministry was called Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. In April 1993 it was renamed Ministry of Culture and Education. In October 1994 the ministry was split into the present-day Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Education and Sports (with Ljilja Vokić appointed as head of the latter). This form remained unchanged until 2003.
  
  | Minister | Party | Term start | Term end |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Vlatko Pavletić | HDZ | 30 May 1990 | 15 April 1992 |
  | Vesna Girardi-Jurkić | HDZ | 15 April 1992 | 18 October 1994 |
  | Ljilja Vokić | HDZ | 18 October 1994 | 4 March 1998 |
  | Božidar Pugelnik | HDZ | 4 March 1998 | 5 October 1999 |
  | Nansi Ivanišević | HDZ | 5 October 1999 | 27 January 2000 |
  | Vladimir Strugar | HSS | 27 January 2000 | 23 December 2003 |
  
  ### Ministers of Science, Education and Sports (2003–2016)
  
  | Minister | Party | Term start | Term end |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Dragan Primorac | Ind. | 23 December 2003 | 6 July 2009 |
  | Radovan Fuchs | HDZ | 6 July 2009 | 23 December 2011 |
  | Željko Jovanović | SDP | 23 December 2011 | 11 June 2014 |
  | Vedran Mornar | Ind. | 11 June 2014 | 22 January 2016 |
  | Predrag Šustar | HDZ | 22 January 2016 | 19 October 2016 |
  
  ### Ministers of Science and Education (2016–present)
  
  | Minister | Party | Term start | Term end |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | Pavo Barišić | HDZ | 19 October 2016 | 9 June 2017 |
  | Blaženka Divjak | Ind. | 9 June 2017 | 23 July 2020 |
  | Radovan Fuchs | HDZ | 23 July 2020 | present |
  