Defence Minister Mario Banozic has extended until the end of the year the term of the Croatian Army's (HV) Chief-of-Staff, Admiral Robert Hranj, for particularly justified reasons and the needs of the service, the ministry told Hina on Tuesday.

“The Chief of the General Staff and I cooperate very well, as can be seen in all the projects for the modernisation and equipment of the Croatian Army. It is important that we all who can impact processes within the Croatian Army in any way keep the focus solely on the interest of HV personnel and on the development of our Armed Forces. It is in that direction that Admiral Hranj and I cooperate,” Banozic said.

Hranj was appointed Chief-of-Staff in February 2020. Last December, Banozic signed a decision to keep Hranj in the service for another six months. Hranj turned 60 last year and under the law on service in the Armed Forces, he should have retired on 1 January this year.

In July last year, the announcement of Hranj’s possible retirement was strongly criticised by President and Commander-in-Chief Zoran Milanovic, who claimed that his agreement with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, made at the start of Milanovic’s term, that Hranj would be appointed to a four-year term, was above the relevant law.

Last December, asked if Hranj’s term was being extended, Banozic said it was not and that he was being kept in the service under the law which envisages keeping someone from retiring for up to two years.