Member of Parliament and former Minister of Economy and Defense Branko Vukelić (55) has died. For the last two years, he battled pancreatic cancer, a disease he could not overcome.
Vukelić was born on March 9, 1958, and graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Zagreb. He began his political career in Karlovac. He served as the Mayor of Karlovac and for many years was the president of the city organization of HDZ. In HDZ, he held the positions of secretary, political secretary, and member of the party’s Presidency.
He was elected to the Croatian Parliament at the end of 2003, but immediately put his parliamentary mandate on hold as he was appointed Minister of Economy in the government of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader. From 2008 to 2010, Vukelić served as Minister of Defense, and from then until his death, he was a member of Parliament.
He left the party a few months ago, dissatisfied with the leadership of HDZ, claiming that the party is being led in a completely wrong direction and that the relationships within it are filled with fear, threats, blackmail, censorship, and the removal of those deemed undesirable.
In the last parliamentary elections, he was on the HDZ list and was elected as a member of Parliament. Upon leaving the party, he stated that he would remain an independent representative.
The condolences to the family of the deceased member of Parliament and former Minister of Economy and Defense Branko Vukelić were sent by the President of the Republic of Croatia Ivo Josipović and the President of the Croatian Parliament Josip Leko.
