ZAGREB, March 10, 2020 – The busts which used to be placed in the vestibule of the Pantovčak presidential office were removed last week, a source from the office of President Zoran Milanović told Hina on Monday adding that the talks are being held with museums and other institutions for the storage of those statues.
The vestibule was until recently decorated by the busts of prominent Croatian politician sand leaders including the first Croatian president Franjo Tuđman, as well as renowned leaders and dignitaries from the past: Josip Juraj Strossmayer, King Tomislav, Ivan Mažuranić, Ante Starčević, Stjepan Radić and Alojzije Stepinac.
The bust of Strossmayer will be given back to the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU), which is its owner.
The Office of the fifth Croatian president explains that by removing the busts, President Milanović delivered on his pre-election promise that they should be put on display in museums and not in the presidential office.
His predecessor, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, removed only one bust, and that was of Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Broz Tito, at the start of her term in 2015.
More news about Zoran Milanović can be found in the Politics section.
