The Croatian Diaspora

ZAGREB, October 19, 2019 - The Croat minority in Montenegro contributed significantly to the country's accession to NATO and has been contributing to its accession to the European Union, and the Montenegrin state has secured, primarily through its election laws, a privileged status for the Croat minority, Montenegro's Human and Minority Rights Minister Mehmed Zenka has told Hina. "The Croat minority has contributed very much to all positive processes in Montenegro, notably integration processes. Also, a positive step was made through election laws facilitating the representation of the Croat minority in the Montenegrin parliament. Montenegro and Croatia have a joint…

ZAGREB, October 10, 2019 - A two-day international conference called "The diaspora and the homeland" began on Thursday, with participants underlining the importance of expatriates for Croatia's development, recognisability and branding. Presidential envoy Mirjana Hrga said expatriates were a key topic for the survival of the Croatian state and nation given that more Croats lived abroad than in Croatia. President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović considers that an unforgivably wasted capital for the country, a resource from which a relatively young and independent state should draw its wealth, she said. She recalled that the president had proposed establishing a demography ministry a few…

ZAGREB, October 3, 2019 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and representatives of Slovenia's ethnic Croat community agreed on Wednesday that it was necessary to continue to work on having Ljubljana recognise the status of Slovenian Croats as an ethnic minority, the Croatian government reported. Plenković received in Zagreb for talks representatives of the Croat communities from Slovenia and Montenegro, which has defined the status of its Croat community. "While Croats in Montenegro have the status of an ethnic minority, the status of ethnic Croats in Slovenia is undefined. That is why the need was expressed to continue activities on…

The National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation (NFCACF) announced today that 58 years ago, on this day, October 1, 1961, Roger Maris (Maraš) of the New York Yankees, hit his record 61st home run in one baseball season, eclipsing the 34-year old record of 60 home runs by baseball legend Babe Ruth. Roger Maris was born in 1934 in Hibbing, Minnesota to Croatian American parents. Maris played 12 years of major league baseball. He hit 275 Home runs, was All-Star 12 times, won the World Series 3 times, was the Most Valuable Player 2 times, Gold Glove Award winner,…

ZAGREB, September 29, 2019 - The 15th anniversary of classes in the Croatian language in Montenegro was marked in Tivat on Saturday, with the Croatian president's envoy underlining the importance of Croatia's institutional connection with expatriate communities around the world. Croatia's consul general in Kotor, Jasminka Lončarević, conveyed President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's message, which also underscored the importance of building national unity and solidarity with full respect for the states and nations where Croats live. Lončarević congratulated, on behalf of Grabar-Kitarović and the Consulate General in Kotor, "all students, all teachers and their parents as well as everyone who, in these…

September 28, 2019 - Continuing our look at successful returnee stories and experiences from the Croatian diaspora to the homeland, next up Daniel Nikic from Cohres on his journey from Canada to Zagreb.  Born in Canada, returned to Croatia, something that many diaspora dream of doing. Tell us briefly about your journey. I was born to Croatian parents from Bosnia and Herzegovina, more specifically from small villages of Ruzici and Tihaljina in the town of Grude. My parents moved to Canada in their early 20s in the late 1960s via Stuttgart, Germany. I grew up in a small town called…

September 23, 2019 - More and more Croatians in the diaspora are considering moving back to the homeland. Meet one who is about to take the plunge, Katherine Kurelja. You live in Boston, have Croatian roots and plan to move to Zagreb. Explain! It’s simple. The pros and cons of life in Croatia have won out over the pros and cons of American life. For us that means switching from consumer culture to family culture. And it’s certainly not a competition, but I’ll take your news headlines over ours any day.        2. Why now? Croatia is at…

ZAGREB, September 21, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović took part in a conference of the Association of Croatian American Professionals (ACAP) in Cleveland on Friday, thanking its members for their work towards the development of Croatia's economy and society as well as for the strengthening of economic relations between Croatia and the United States, her office said in a press release on Saturday. Over the five years of its existence, the ACAP has contributed to the development of Croatia-US relations, the president said, adding that Croatia strongly supported their work and saw the ACAP as an important partner which…

September 18, 2019 - Pittsburgh, PA – Her Excellency Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, President of the Republic of Croatia, will be visiting the city of Pittsburgh, home to the headquarters of the Croatian Fraternal Union of America (CFU), in honor of the Society’s 125th Anniversary Celebration. The visit, scheduled for this Sunday, September 22, 2019, will begin with a Jubilee Mass held at St. Nicholas Church (Millvale), a distinguished Shrine Church of Croatian heritage, followed by a gala anniversary banquet at the Wyndham Grand Hotel Pittsburgh. The Anniversary Celebration falls on the eve of the 25th Quadrennial Convention of the Society. “This…

ZAGREB, September 7, 2019 - A total 89 agreements on financial support, in the amount of 26 million kuna (3.5 million euro), for projected important for the Croat people in Bosnia and Herzegovina were signed in the village of Tolisa near the northern Bosnian town of Orašje on Friday evening. The contracts confirm the continuity, systematic approach and consistency of Croatia's policy towards the Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and good neighbourly support which Zagreb offers to Bosnia and Herzegovina, said Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who attended the agreement-signing ceremonies in the Franciscan Monastery, the landmark of the village…