Croatia celebrates Statehood Day on Thursday in memory of 30 May 1990 when, after decades of communist rule, the first modern democratic Croatian parliament, the Sabor, was founded on the basis of the results of the first multi-party elections in April and May of that year.

The first parliament had 351 members and three councils – the Council of Municipalities, the Associated Labour Council and the Social Policy Council.

The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) had 207 seats, the Union of Communists of Croatia – Party of Democratic Changes, which later became the SDP, received 107 seats, the Coalition of People’s Unity 21 and the Serbian Democratic Party five, while 13 seats went to independent MPs and MPs from ethnic minorities.

The 1990 parliament was in office for just over two years. Elections to the House of Representatives were held in August 1992. The parliament consisted of a single chamber and had 138 deputies.

Historic decisions on the sovereignty and independence of Croatia

The first Parliament passed historic resolutions on the sovereignty and independence of Croatia, on the severance of state and legal ties with the Yugoslav Federation and on the 1990 Christmas Constitution. Its work was characterised by the beginning of the War of Independence.

In his speech to the deputies on 30 May 1990, the first Croatian President Franjo Tudjman said that “throughout history, the Croatian State Parliament has been the guardian of the sovereignty (except from 1918 to 1941) of the Croatian people vis-à-vis other national and state communities.”

On the occasion of Statehood Day, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic laid wreaths at the Homeland Monument in the centre of Zagreb on Thursday morning.

The Archbishop of Zagreb, Monsignor Drazen Kutlesa, held a mass for the homeland. This year, Statehood Day coincides with Corpus Christi, which is also a public holiday in Croatia.