The Croatian state leadership on Saturday laid wreaths at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetery on the occasion of Statehood Day, which as of this year is again observed on May 30 instead of June 25.

President Zoran Milanovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic laid joint wreaths at the common grave of unidentified victims of the 1991-95 Homeland War, the Wall of Pain monument and the monument commemorating fallen Homeland War soldiers.

PM Plenkovic and Parliament Speaker Jandrokovic then laid a wreath at the grave of Croatia’s first president Franjo Tudjman without President Milanovic.

The wreath-laying ceremony marked the start of day-long events commemorating Statehood Day, as part of which a Holy Mass for the homeland will be served, a ceremony of changing the Guard of Honour will take place outside the government and parliament offices, and a concert will be held outside the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.

In 2020, after almost two decades, Croatia again celebrates Statehood Day on May 30, as it did in the first decade of its existence.

This year Statehood Day is celebrated on the 30th anniversary of the inauguration of the first multi-party parliament on 30 May 1990, when the foundations of the modern Croatian Parliament were laid and its historic role in preserving Croatian statehood was confirmed after decades of the Communist rule.

That act marked the beginning of the process of gaining independence, which is why it is considered a watershed in the country’s recent history.