Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović was the fourth President of Croatia (2015-2020), a role which she was the first woman to hold. Over her lengthy career in public service, she was elected a Member of the Croatian Parliament (2003) and served as Croatia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (2003-2008), again becoming the first woman to serve in the position. She also served as Ambassador to the United States, co-accredited to Mexico, Panama, and the Organization of American States (2008-2011), and was also the first female Assistant Secretary General and member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Senior Leadership (2011-2014). In addition to serving as GPMB co-Chair, Ms Grabar-Kitarović is a Women Political Leaders (WPL) Global Ambassador for Immunization, a Member of the High-Level Advisory Council for the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations, and Chair Emerita of the Council of Women World Leaders. She is currently an Executive in Residence at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management and serves on the boards of several non-profit institutions, including the US Atlantic Council, Halifax International Security Forum, Concordia Leadership Council, GLOBSEC, and Friends of Europe. She was elected as an Independent Member of the International Olympic Committee in 2020 and has been appointed Chair of the Future Hosts Commission for the Games of the Olympiad. She is also a Member of the Nizami Ganjavi International Centre. Ms Grabar-Kitarović was previously a visiting fellow at the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University in 2021, and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame in October 2022. Parallel to her diplomatic and political careers, she has pursued an academic career in government, international relations, and security studies at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy (1994-1995), George Washington University (2002-2003), Harvard University (2009), Johns Hopkins University (2011), and the University of Zagreb. She is a recipient of the 2019 Fulbright Lifetime Achievement award for her “remarkable contributions as a leader, diplomat, and public servant”, the George Washington University President’s Medal, and several other national and international awards, decorations, recognitions, honorary doctorates, and honorary citizenships.