Stipe Petrina

Stipe Petrina (born 5 October 1954) is a Croatian politician serving his sixth term as Mayor of Primošten. He is known for his controversial public appearances and statements, and has been described as enfant terrible of Croatian politics.

Biography He was born in Primošten. After finishing primary school in 1969 in Primošten, he moved to Zagreb to study engineering, graduating from high school in 1974. From 1976 to 1990, he worked as a seaman for various domestic and foreign shipping companies. In January 1990, he organized the first democratic elections in the local community of Primošten, becoming its secretary. He is a volunteer and a veteran of the Croatian War of Independence; he retired in 1995.

Political career In 2001, at the local elections, he organized the Independent Municipal List, becoming president of the Municipal Council of Primošten. In 2005, he resubmitted his candidacy in local elections with the Independent List, winning 80% of the seats, and became mayor of the municipality of Primošten. In the 2009 local elections in Primošten, he won his second consecutive term as mayor with 80% voter support. He won his third term in 2013, with the support of 68% of voters. Since 2001, Petrina has performed all of his duties in the municipality of Primošten voluntarily and free of charge.

In 2009, he founded the Independent County List that received the support of 9,500 voters, winning eight seats in the Šibenik-Knin County assembly, which turned it into the second most powerful political entity in the county.

After winning eight seats in the Šibenik-Knin County Assembly, he ignored legal provisions that banned him from serving both in municipal and county institutions, and had to be physically obstructed from attending the sessions by security guards. After managing to change the disputed law in 2013, he was again prevented from attending the sessions, calling the new government formed by the leftist party Social Democratic Party of Croatia the same as HDZ.

Public perception According to the results of a survey conducted by 'Šibenik TM' among the citizens of the Šibenik-Knin County in 2011, Petrina was declared the politician who embodies the highest number of desirable and positive qualities. The citizens of the county respected Petrina's courage, enthusiasm, honesty, patriotism, vision and credibility.

He has been described as a person who dominated the political scene of Šibenik and the county during the first decade of the third millennium. "It's not just the frequency of his appearance in the media, but primarily due to the impact that he had on molding the public opinion and political attitudes of citizens.".