Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić dies, age 65

Longtime Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić died of a heart attack aged 65 early on Sunday, the city information office said.

Bandić was born in Grude in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1955, where he finished primary and secondary school. He graduated from the Zagreb Faculty of Political Science.

Between 1995 and 2000, Bandić was a councillor in the Zagreb City Assembly and a member of parliament from 2000, when he was elected mayor of Zagreb, a post to which he was re-elected in 2001.

In 2002, he was elected deputy mayor and in 2005 he was again elected mayor. He was re-elected mayor in 2009, 2013 and 2017.

He was also president of the Bandić Milan 365 - Labour and Solidarity Party. He used to be a member of the Social Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Sunday sent his condolences to the family and associates of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, noting that after two decades of work, Bandić left behind numerous projects that have contributed to the development of Zagreb and its recognisability.

"I received with regret the news of the sudden and premature death of Milan Bandić, longtime Zagreb mayor and president of the Labour and Solidarity Party... In these painful moments, I extend, on behalf of the government and my own, sincere condolences and sympathies to the Bandić family, friends and associates," the prime minister's letter of condolence read.

Plenković underscored that Mayor Bandić was characterised by an inexhaustible work energy and enthusiasm "which marked his life and political engagement".

Source: HRT