Ambassador Zvonimir Frka-Petešić

Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister 

 

  • Born in 1969 in Puteaux (Paris, France)
  • Married, father of two daughters.
 

Work Experience

  • 2017-present - Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister in Croatia's Prime Minister's Office

  • 2013-2017 - Ambassador of Croatia to Morocco
    • also non-resident Ambassador to Tunisia, Mauritania, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon and Cameroon
  • 2012-2013 - Head of Division for Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
  • 2011-2012 - Head of Directorate for Support to the Accession Process of Croatia to the EU at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
    • coordinated the EU membership referendum campaign
  • 2006-2011 - Head of Section for Public Relations and Public Diplomacy (Spokesperson) at the Mission of Croatia to the EU in Brussels during Croatia's accession negotiations
  • 2008-2009 - Special Advisor to the Personal Envoy of the President of Croatia in the Permanent Council of La Francophonie
  • 2005-2006 - First Secretary at the Section for Public Relations and Public Diplomacy at the Mission of Croatia to the EU in Brussels
  • 2001-2005 - Officer in Charge of Public Relations and Public Diplomacy at the Embassy of Croatia to France
  • 1999-2001 - Third Secretary at the Embassy of Croatia to France
  • 1996-1999 - Attaché at the Embassy of Croatia to France
  • 1993-1996 - Local Staff Member at the Embassy of Croatia to France​


Education

  • 2001 - Completed a six-month course in communicology
    • Carnegie Foundation, Paris
  • 1999 - Diplôme d’études approfondies en géopolitique (equivalent to Master of Science in geopolitics)
    • Institut Français de Géopolitique, Université Paris-VIII
    • Thesis: “Fronts, frontières et populations de Croatie et de Bosnie-Herzégovine — Analyse cartographique de la guerre 1991-1995” (“Fronts, borders and population of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina - Cartographic Analysis of the war 1991-1995”) under the supervision of Professor Yves Lacoste, the founder of French geopolitical studies
  • 1996 - Maîtrise de géographie (equivalent to Master's degree in geography)
    • Université Paris-VIII
  • 1992 - DEUG des sciences et des structures de la matière (equivalent to BSc in maths, physics, chemistry and computing)
    • Université Paris-VI
  • 1988 - Lycée Marcelin Berthelot (classical high school)
 


Other Activities

  • Editor-in-chief:
    • “Croatia, land and people”, Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography, 2013
    • website www.croatia.eu, Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography, 2013
    • “The Committee of the Regions welcomes Croatian territorial authorities”, European Committee of the Regions, 2012
    • website www.eu-referendum.hr, 2011
    • “What are the benefits of EU membership” (in Croatian), Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, 2011
    • “All you wanted to know about the EU” (in Croatian), Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, 2011
    • “Communicating Enlargement”, Club of Venice Guide, 2010
    • Bulletin of the Mission of Croatia to the EU (in English and Croatian), 2010-2011
    • founder and editor of the first website within the Croatian diplomatic network (the website of the Embassy of Croatia to France), 1999-2005
    • Bulletin of the Embassy of Croatia to France, 1994-1998
    • founder and editor of the bulletin Délivrance - Vukovar, Sarajevo, Priština, Paris, 1992-1993
    • anchormanand editor of the Croatian Youth Radio, Paris, 1991-1992
  • Author 
    • ​of more than a hundred of geopolitical maps depicting the war in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, published in professional publications, French daily newspapers and TV stations
    • FRKA-PETEŠIĆ, Zvonimir i SKOKO, Božo, "Hrvatska u 30 priča" (Naklada Ljevak, 2023.)
    • FRKA-PETEŠIĆ, Zvonimir i SKOKO, Božo, "Croatia in 30 Stories" (Naklada Ljevak, 2023.)
    • FRKA-PETEŠIĆ, Zvonimir. "Sharing best practices in communicating on Europe for the sake of all its citizens", u: "30 Years of Public Communication Challenges", Club of Venice, Bruxelles, 2016.
    • FRKA-PETEŠIĆ, Zvonimir. "EU welcomes its 28th Member State: now... keeping the momentum", u: "Convergences - Public communication in Europe", Club of Venice, Bruxelles, br. 3. 2013.
    • FRKA-PETEŠIĆ, Zvonimir. "Nous devons réussir à dissiper les craintes légitimes que suscite une Europe secouée par la crise", u: "Régions & Communes d'Europe", Lettre d'information du Comité des Régions, br. 75, Bruxelles, prosinac 2011-siječanj 2012.
    • FRKA-PETEŠIĆ, Zvonimir. "Acteurs d'Europe. Cinq questions à Zvonimir Frka-Petešić", u: "Etudes européennes - La revue permanente des professionnels de l'Europe", ENA & IEP Strasbourg, 2012.
    • FRKA-PETEŠIĆ, Zvonimir. "Communicating Europe in Croatia", u: "25 Years of Public Communication in Europe", Club of Venice, Bruxelles, 2011.
    • FRKA-PETEŠIĆ, Zvonimir. "Elargissement. L'Union dit 'oui' à la Croatie", u: "Confrontations Europe - La revue", Paris, listopad-prosinac, 2011.
  • Expert assistant, translator and/or language editor for numerous French tour guides and monographs, including the following publications:
    • “Croatia between war and independence” (in French), OKC, Zagreb, 1991
    • “Yugoslavia - manipulations with the number of victims of World War II” (in French), HIC, Zagreb, 1993
    • “Croatia” (in French), G. Castellan and G. Vidan, Que sais-je?, PUF, Paris, 1998
    • “Arts in Croatia” (in French), L’Œil, Hors-série n° 7, Paris, 1998
    • “War as social illness” (in French), M. Grmek, Le Seuil, Paris, 2001
    • “Roland's European Paths” (in Croatian), Europe House Dubrovnik, 2006
    • “Croatia and the Holy See: Twenty Years of Diplomatic Relations (1992-2012)” (in Croatian), Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, 2012
    • “History Review - Our friends, the Croats” (in French), Paris, 2013


Memberships

  • National Council for Digital Transformation
  • National platform for disaster risk reduction
  • European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
  • Committee for Monitoring and Improvement of Salary Systems in Public Administration and Public Services
  • Working group for coordination and monitoring of activities related to the implementation of the Decision on the procurement of a multi-role fighter aircraft
  • Interdepartmental working group for the preparation, organization and implementation of the 30th anniversary of the international recognition of the Republic of Croatia and the establishment of diplomatic relations
  • Expert working group for drafting the Digital Croatia Strategy for the period until 2030.
  • Currency Committee of the Croatian National Bank
  • Working group for the development of a technical solution for digital green certificates with the implementation of their cross-border interoperability
  • Working group responsible for defining the framework for cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence development
  • Committee for Coordinating Communication Activities in the Implementation of the National Plan for the Exchange of the Croatian Kuna with the Euro - main coordinator
  • Commission for Selection of the Croatian Side of Euro Coins
  • Chairman of the Task Force for the Preparation of the 8thSummit of Central and Eastern European Countries and China (“China+16”)
  • Chairman of the Committee for the Adaptation of the National and University Library in Zagreb as the Central Venue of the Croatian EU Presidency in 2020 
  • Chairman of the Commission for the Selection of the Motto of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2020
  • Co-Chairman of the Interagency Commission for the Procurement of the Multirole Combat Aircraft
  • Member of the Croatian Diplomatic Club
  • Member of the Interagency Council for the Coordination of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union
  • Member of the National Committee of Croatia for EXPO 2020 Dubai
  • Member of the Interagency Task Force for Dubrovnik Forum 2018
  • Member of the Organising Committee for the Central Commemoration of the Day of Victory and Homeland Gratitude and Day of Croatian War Veterans in Knin (2018 and 2019)
  • Member of the Evaluation Team for proposals submitted to the Call for Proposals for Visual Identity and Motto of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2020
  • Member of the Evaluation Team for proposals submitted to the Call for Proposals of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs for Visual Identity and Motto of the 2012 Croatian European Union membership referendum
  • Member of the Committee for the Preparation and Implementation of the Tourist-Development Project “Veliki Brijun”
  • Member of the Task Force of the President of Croatia for the Development of Identity and the Brand of Croatia
  • Honorary Member of the NGO “Nikola Tesla - Genius for the Future” (since 2012)
  • Member of the Club of Venice of European Experts in Communication and Public Diplomacy (since 2014), Member of the Steering Board
  • Member of the National Commission for the Francophonie, 2008


Decorations 

  • Grand Officer of the Sharifian Order of the Alawite Wissam (Kingdom of Morocco)


Foreign Languages

  • French
  • English