ZAGREB, 4 June 2021 - Former acting Zagreb mayor Jelena Pavičić Vukičević said on Friday the city ended last year HRK 90 million in the red.

Speaking on N1 television, she said annual borrowing was always done with the consent of the Finance Ministry, that it never exceeded 20% of the city budget, and that borrowing until 2035 totalled HRK 2 billion.

She also said that everyone working in the city administration had passed a public call for applications. "It's a procedure that lasts six months in which diplomas and other documents are verified, and it's a procedure the new mayor will have to respect, too."

Earlier today, Pavičić Vukičević transferred executive powers to the new mayor, Tomislav Tomašević, handing over extensive reports, including on the execution of the 2020 budget.

She said today's talk with Tomašević was "friendly" and that the new mayor would be acquainted with all of the city's operations.

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ZAGREB, 31 May 2021 - Acting Zagreb Mayor Jelena Pavičić Vukičević said on Monday all the documents necessary for transferring authority to newly-elected Mayor Tomislav Tomašević were ready at the city administration and that the transfer could occur on Friday at the earliest.

She congratulated Tomašević on his election and wished him and his team success in their work.

We followed the campaign and saw the election programs, and we expect their prompt and good realization, she told the press.

Pavičić Vukičević also congratulated the people of Zagreb on City Day, which is observed today.

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May the 30th, 2021 - Jelena Pavicic Vukicevic, who stepped in as Zagreb's mayor following the premature and sudden death of longtime mayor Milan Bandic, has decided to leave the political scene and pursue another career in a very different field.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Jelena Pavicic Vukicevic, the current acting Mayor of Zagreb, failed to enter the second round of recent Croatian mayoral elections, so she decided on a change in her career path, opting instead to kickstart her scientific career as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb, Jutarnji list reported on Saturday.

The Faculty of Kinesiology announced on its website that Dr. sc. Jelena Pavicic Vukicevic is to give an inaugural lecture as "an application in the process of election to the title of scientific-teaching title of assistant professor in the scientific field of social sciences, scientific field of pedagogy, for the subjects of pedagogy and didactics" on Wednesday.

Jelena Pavicic Vukicevic, while known for stepping into the role of Zagreb's mayor following Bandic's untimely death, is otherwise a doctor of science. Back in 2018 she received her doctorate in pedagogy, and now, after becoming an assistant professor, she will be able to work as an independent lecturer.

Her associates have confirmed that she will remain here in the Republic of Croatia and that she will teach at the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb following her doctorate.

There was speculation in the media that Jelena Pavicic Vukicevic could leave Croatia upon stepping down from her current political role at the capital's helm.

The above could be heard being circulated in the corridors of the city administration because her husband works abroad, and she herself has openly said that such a possibility exists for her too, but that it is the least possible option when compared to remaining here in the country.

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ZAGREB, 26 April, 2021 - Labour and Solidarity party candidate for Zagreb mayor, Jelena Pavičić Vukičević, presented her election platform on Monday under the slogan "Together with You," saying that she will lead the city in cooperation with citizens.

"In future I will work a little differently, more open and with the assistance of digital platforms that will enable every citizen to present their priorities," said  Pavičić Vukičević presenting her election platform based on five topics: Zagreb's reconstruction for the 21 century, welfare rights, direct citizens' participation in decision-making, resolving the problem of waste and resolving traffic congestion.

Pavičić Vukičević, who currently serves as the acting mayor after the death of mayor Milan Bandić, rejected claims that there were too many people employed in the city's administration saying that there are 3.8 employees per 1,000 Zagreb residents whereas in Vienna, for example there are 16 employees per 1,00 residents.

She underscored that the city's finances are stable which has been confirmed by credit rating agencies that have reaffirmed the city's credit rating.

She presented her candidates for deputy mayors - Otto Barić and Ivica Lovrić. 

Barić said he would focus on reconstruction and brown field investments while Lovrić will focus on education, culture and sports.

April the 24th, 2021 - Following long time mayor Milan Bandic's sudden and premature death a few weeks ago, the City of Zagreb has been being governed by acting mayor Jelena Pavicic Vukicevic, who has spoken out about her desire for more coronavirus vaccination points located across the capital.

The vaccination process across not only Croatia but Europe as a whole, with the exception of the United Kingdom which has been doing excellently, has been problematic and far slower than anyone could have expected previously, but it seems things are finally on the up. With infection and death rates still high in Croatia, it hasn't come a moment too soon.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, acting Zagreb mayor Jelena Pavicic Vukicevic has stated that she would gladly organise everything necessary for the citizens of the Croatian capital to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus as soon as possible, and noted that talks with healthcare centres were firmly underway and that they would disperse vaccination points throughout Zagreb.

“We're looking forward to the arrival of all of the doses of the coronavirus vaccines from all manufacturers in the City of Zagreb and indeed across the rest of Croatia. This will enable us all to start living normally again, that is, to return to some of our old habits,'' said Jelena Pavicic Vukicevic on Thursday at the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebacki Velesajam), where there is finally a great response and turnout of invited Zagreb residents for vaccination against the new disease.

She called on her fellow citizens to respond to their invitations to come for their immunisation.

The head of the Zagreb City Office for Education, Ivica Lovric, commented that recently, the employees of Zagreb's schools and kindergartens have been coming to the Zagreb Fair for their vaccinations, he added that more than 40 percent of them want to be vaccinated.

"There are about 6,500 of them on the list who have stated that they want to be vaccinated in this current wave. I hope that over time, that number will increase,'' said Lovric.

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ZAGREB, 19 March, 2021 - Jelena Pavičić Vukičević on Thursday accepted the nomination by the Bandić Milan 365 - Labour and Solidarity party to run for Zagreb mayor at the local election in May.

After a meeting of the party's presidency, Pavičić Vukičević said that she would lead the party to victory.

After Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić's death, his deputy and long time associate Pavičić Vukičević stepped in as acting mayor until the election.

Jelena Pavičić Vukičević was Bandić's associate from the very start of his career and she herself has had many years of experience in the city's administration.

When Banidć was elected for his first term as mayor in 2000, she was the secretary of the Zagreb branch of the Social Democratic Party and a councillor in the city assembly. Three years later she was elected to parliament and in 2008 she was appointed as the head of the City office for education, culture and sports. From 2009 to 2013 she was appointed as Bandic's deputy mayor. In the 2017 local election, she was directly elected as deputy mayor of Zagreb.

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