Police Minister Will Be A Man For All Systems

[CroRadio.net]

http://www.javno.com

NAMING OF KARAMARKO
Police Minister Will Be A Man For All Systems
Tomislav Karamarko did well in 1989 when he joined HDZ, and in 2000 in
the president's office, and 2008 as head of SOA.


Translation
Joseph Stedul
Author
Ivica Kristović


Tomislav Karamarko will replace the unsuccessful Minister of Internal
Affairs Berislav Roncevic in the coming days. Karamarko was born in
Zadar in 1959, and his family moved to the unpopular Zagreb suburb of
Kozari Bok in 1964. In 1982 Karamarko graduated in history at the
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and in the same year, under
allegations of (religious) nationalism as a member of Catholic
associations, and his passport was revoked.

Karamarko has been in HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union), since the very
beginning, and has been a member since 1989. Its beginning was in a
close circle of people gathered around the current president Stjepan
Mesic, Josip Manolic and Franjo Greguric.

Ivan Goldin-.--.-Croatian president Stjepan Mesic.
Croatian president Stjepan Mesic.
Ivan Goldin

In 1991 and 1992, Karamarko held the position of chief of staff for
the premier at the time, Josip Manolic. After Franjo Greguric became
the new premier, Karamarko did well and held his position. Politicians
changed, and the constant was Karamarko from which you could see that
he had very good support from the political elite.

The continuation of his career was in another position as an assistant
to a powerful politician, and that was the chief of staff for the
president of the parliament from 1992 to 1993, when the president of
the Croatian parliament was the current Croatian president Stjepan
Mesic.

Chief of Stjepan Mesic's electoral committee

The following years marked Karamarko's fall as he was replaced from
the position of head of police headquarters, and gained a position as
deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, and in 1998 he was named an
advisor for HAK.

He was the chief of president Mesic's electoral committee during his
first candidates for president, and after the win he became the
president's advisor for national Security and head of UNS.

In 2002 Karamarko was fatigued by state functions, which is when he
left his position in the president's office to go to private business
as the director of the company SOBOLI. However, his career as an
entrepreneur was short lived, and two years later he became head of
the counter intelligence agency. When he came to that position,
president Mesic demanded that Karamarko
Reuters-.--.-
Reuters

check the status of the agency and comb though it. At those moments,
it could not be said if Karamarko was Mesic's or Sanader's choice, but
the fact is that has remained in that very unsafe terrain for a long
time, and it is clear that during these four year he has had strong
political backing in his work.

Director of Security-Intelligence Agency

In the media, his role in the arrest of general Ante Gotovina was much
discussed, and was portrayed as one of the most important links in the
chain for that move, which pushed forward Croatia's negotiations with
the European Union.

The current function of Tomislav Karamarko is the head of the Security-
Intelligence Agency (SOA), which has become famous in the last few
months by searching for its agents via the internet.

In recent months there has been a lot of talk about the resignation of
Tomislav Karamarko from the head of SOA, which president Mesic reacted
to by saying that the stories were planted by irresponsible and sick
people.

His position in premier Sanader's cabinet will be the highest
political function that he has been in up until now. With the support
of the premier and president of the country, he will need to start
combing through a department that is full of affairs, and it will not
be easy for him because the public will be breathing down his neck
from the very beginning.
Published: October 07, 2008 01:20h