July 18 (SeeNews) - Andrej Plenkovic has been elected as the new leader of Croatia's conservative HDZ party following the resignation of Tomislav Karamarko on June 21.
Plenkovic was the only candidate for the helm and was backed by 99.61% of the 98,209 party members who voted on Sunday, HDZ, which has a total of about 208,000 members, said in a statement on its website.
"Croatia needs a new approach, a modern political platform and strategic turnaround," Plenkovic said upon accepting the post.
Prior to becoming the fifth HDZ leader, Plenkovic was a deputy ambassador at the Croatian embassy in Paris as well as the state secretary for European affairs in the ministry of foreign affairs.
Karamarko, former party leader and first deputy prime minister of Croatia, resigned from his post last month since he failed to
form a new parliamentary majority after the country's centre-right government dissolved following no confidence vote in PM Tihomir Oreskovic. The vote was triggered by a dispute between ruling coalition partners Most and HDZ over Karamarko's alleged corporate interests.
Just three months ago, Karamarko was reelected as HDZ party chief with overwhelming support.
Plenkovic is expected to shoot for prime ministerial position during the snap vote scheduled for September 11.