January 26, 2006 Croatian Foreign Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic to Speak Feb. 14

Press Contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
Public Contact: Robert Saladini (202) 707-2692

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Croatian minister for foreign affairs and European integration, will give a speech titled “Croatia: Partnerships, Priorities and Progress” at the Library of Congress at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in Room 119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The event, which is sponsored by the Library’s John W. Kluge Center, is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are required.

Grabar-Kitarovic became foreign minister in 2005, and her main task in that role is to guide Croatia into the European Union and NATO. In October 2005, the European Union opened membership talks with Croatia. Grabar-Kitarovic’s speech will address Croatia’s desire to join the European Union and the country’s relationship to Europe.

A native of Rijeka, Croatia, Grabar-Kitarovic lived for a while in the United States, where she attended Los Alamos High School in Los Alamos, N.M. Soon after her graduation from the University of Zagreb in Croatia, she began her diplomatic career as adviser to the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Croatia. She later became head of the North American Department of the Foreign Ministry and was assigned to the Croatian Embassy in Canada. In 2003, Grabar-Kitarovic was elected to the Croatian parliament.

Through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, the Library of Congress established the Kluge Center in 2000. The center brings leading scholars together with key Washington policymakers to discuss important world issues, drawing on the Library’s incomparable national and international collections. For information about the fellowships, grants and programs offered by the Kluge Center, visit www.loc.gov/kluge.

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PR 06-030
2006-01-27
ISSN 0731-3527