Prime Minister Ivo Sanader Succeeded by Ivan Suker Education University of Zagreb Preceded by Andrija Hebrang Role Croatian Politician | Succeeded by Duro Popijac Name Damir Polancec Preceded by Branko Vukelic Nationality Croat Party Croatian Democratic Union | |
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Born 25 June 1967 (age 56)
Koprivnica, SFR Yugoslavia ( 1967-06-25 ) | ||
Damir Polančec (born 25 June 1967) is a Croatian politician. Polančec served as the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship in the Croatian Government of Ivo Sanader and later Jadranka Kosor between 2003 and 2009.
On 30 October 2009, Polančec resigned citing a need to avoid damaging the Government and the party (Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ) due to accusations leveled at him for his involvement in the mismanagement of Podravka.
On 30 March 2010, Polančec was apprehended by the police and questioned by USKOK, regarding his involvement in certain financial transactions between Podravka, MOL Group and OTP Bank. The County Court in Zagreb authorized a longer detention for Polančec and also blocked his estates, at the request of USKOK.
On 15 October 2010, Polančec was sentenced to 15 months in prison for a separate instance of abuse of power, where he approved a fictional expense to a Vukovar-based attorney in return for his clients dropping lawsuits against the government.
