Zlatko Mateša

Who is Zlatko Mateša?

Zlatko Mateša was the Prime Minister of Croatia from late 1995 until 31 January 2000. He is a member of the Croatian Democratic Union.

Mateša was born and grew up in Zagreb, then SFR Yugoslavia, and obtained a law degree at the University of Zagreb. He worked in INA in the 1970s and 1980s, where he rose through the ranks to the position of an assistant director. He was friends with Nikica Valentić, Mladen Vedriš and Franjo Gregurić.

In 1990, he entered politics and became a high-ranking HDZ member, along with the aforementioned group. President Franjo Tuđman named him the sixth President of the Government on 4 November 1995. The Mateša government is perhaps best remembered for the introduction of the value-added tax, which originated from the previous government before being put to effect from 1996 under Mateša's government. In 1998, the tax rate was fixed for all products at 22%. The finance minister in the Cabinet of Zlatko Mateša was Borislav Škegro.

In the Croatian parliamentary election, 2000 he was elected into Sabor and served until the end of 2003.

Since 2002, Mateša is the President of the Croatian Olympic Committee.