Dubravka Šuica

Dubravka Šuica (born 20 May 1957) is a Croatian politician, member of the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and member of parliament. She served two consecutive terms as mayor of Dubrovnik between 2001 and 2009. In 2013, she was elected as a Member of the European Parliament and in 2014, she was reelected and is currently serving a five-year term in office.
Born in Dubrovnik, Šuica graduated from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in 1981, where she majored in English and German language. She worked as a high school teacher, university professor and principal in Dubrovnik up until her mayoral election win in 2001. She won another four-year mayoral term in 2005. She was the first female mayor of Dubrovnik in history.

Role in national politics

Šuica became active in politics in 1990 when she joined HDZ. In 1998 she became head of the party's Dubrovnik branch and she was reelected several times, most recently in March 2012.

Šuica was elected as the member of Croatian parliament on HDZ ticket three times in the 2000, 2003 and 2007. She hold several positions in Croatian parliament Committees.

In 2004, she was elected Vice president of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. She was reelected to that position in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012.

In May 2012, Šuica was elected vice-president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). She is also the president of the Foreign and European Affairs Committee of HDZ.

In October 2012, she was elected vice-president of EPP Women.

Member of the European Parliament, 2013–present

In the European elections of 2013, Šuica was elected Member of the European Parliament. She was sworn in on 1 July 2013, after Croatia joined the European Union. She was re-elected MEP following European elections of 25 May 2014, placing 2nd on HDZ list.

Following the 2014 elections Šuica was elected as Vice Chair of the Delegation for relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo (DSEE), Member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), and as a Substitute Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN), Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and Delegation for relations with the United States (D-US).