Željana Zovko


Željana Zovko is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian Croatian diplomat and politician. Since 2016, she has been serving as a member of the European Parliament for Croatia.

Early life and education

Zovko, a Herzegovian Croat from Mostar with dual citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, studied French language at the University of North London in the 1990s.

Career

Controversial career in the public sector

Zovko came back to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999 to work as associate for public relations and head of office for the Croat member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ante Jelavić, who was later found guilty of abuse of office, embezzlement of office, and lack of commitment in office.
In the 2000s, Zovko moved to the diplomatic service: she was named resident ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to France from 2004 to 2008, then ambassador to Spain between 2008 and 2011.
In 2012 Zovko came back to Bosnian politics, working until 2015 as foreign affairs advisor for the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Vjekoslav Bevanda.
In apparent conflict of interest, in May 2014 Zovko contested the 2014 European Parliament election in Croatia on the list of the "Patriotic coalition" linked to the Croatian Democratic Union. She won 2,392 votes. She was not elected.
From May 2015 to October 2016 Zovko was again allowed to enter the politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina and was appointed an ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Italy.

Member of the European Parliament, 2016–present

In 2016, following the resignation of Andrej Plenkovic and Davor Ivo Stier who went to form a new government in Croatia, and the refusal of Ivan Tepeš to replace Stier, Zovko took up a place in the European Parliament as MEP for Croatia. Her switch of loyalties from the Bosnian diplomatic service to representing Croatian voters in the European Parliament raised some criticisms in the press. During her first term, she served on the Committee on Development. Following the 2019 elections, she joined the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In addition to her committee assignments, Zovko is a member of the parliamentary delegation for relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo She is also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas.
In 2017 October, Zovko was deployed to Nepal as the Chief Observer under European Union Election Observation Mission to Nepal to observe the 2017 Nepalese legislative election.