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Zagreb - The first Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Žarko Domljan, died on Saturday aged 86.
In Croatia's first democratic election in 1990, he was elected to Parliament on the slate of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
As an HDZ member, Domljan was the Speaker of the first Parliament from 1990 to 1992. In the second Parliament, from 1992 to 1996, he was the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and chair of the Foreign Policy Committee as well as the chief of the parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe Assembly and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe Assembly.
During his parliamentary term, the Christmas Constitution was passed on 22 December 1990. It confirmed the democratic changes which happened in the spring 1990 multi-parliamentary election and laid the foundation of Croatia as a democracy.
Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Gordan Jandroković in a telegram of condolences to the Domljan family, among other things, said:
"In performing a number of high and responsible parliamentary duties, Mr. Domljan proved his great commitment and patriotism by always promoting Croatian national and state interests, and especially by representing Croatia abroad and in international organizations.
We will also remember Mr. Domljan as an excellent intellectual who left a great scientific mark in the promotion of Croatian art history and lexicography".
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic extended his condolences to Domljan's family, saying that for decades Domljan nurtured the notion of Croatian statehood and contributed to Croatia's development.
He recalled that the Croatian Constitution was adopted during Domljan's term, "which confirmed the democratic changes Croatian citizens demanded in the first multi-party election in the spring of 1990. Thereby were laid the foundations of the modern Croatian state and Croatian history books will carry the words whereby he declared Croatia's independence on 25 June 1991: The state of Croatia is born. May it live long and prosper."