Meeting with the President

In early April I had an amazing opportunity to meet the President of Croatia, Ivo Josipović.  The event was called ˝Coffee with the President˝ and it was sort of meet and greet that takes place at the Presidential Palace once a month.

In order to attend you apply to the President's office the month before and submit your passport number and the questions you intend to ask.  I assumed my passport information was for a security background check and, of course, I had no problem with that.  However, submitting my question in advance created a lot of pressure for me.  I needed time to prepare the perfect questions so I appeared as the enlightened American and not the annoying American.  With no divine inspiration, I submitted a generic question about education.

On the big day, we pulled up to the front gate of the Presidential Palace.  The property is gorgeous, located at the foot of the hills in Zagreb. Next, we went through a series of security check points.  We were driven to the main headquarters where we went through metal detectors and surrendered our phones, cameras and any other devices. On the other side of the x-ray machine a man with a guest list spoke Croatian to me.  I asked him to speak English and without another word he scrolled down to my name and checked me off.  What?  Am I the only English speaker?  How could he possibly know my name just by that question?

We were escorted into the President's Conference Room where we waited for the event to start.  We sat at an enormous conference table that is obviously used for executive meetings with staff or diplomats.  Hanging on the walls are paintings of traditional Croatian scenes throughout history.  Behind where the President would sit is a wall of glass looking out onto the most picturesque setting of hills and trees.  I tried to imagine what it must look like under a blanket of snow.

Finally, the event began.  Oversized doors from the conference room opened up to a larger room .  They lined us up by name and within minutes President Josipović entered.  I don't know why I expected a taller man.  Maybe powerful men are presumed to be large in stature??

One by one, each of the 75 or so guests were called by name.  After shaking hands with the President, a few pleasantries were exchanged and then their picture was taken by the official Palace photographer.  Briefly, I was distracted trying to size up the photographer's gear.

When my name was called I reached out my hand said, "Mr. President, it is nice to meet you."  With wide eyes he exclaimed, "An American!"  He asked me where I was from and when I told him Texas I got that familiar response, "Ah, Texas".  I think telling people I am from Texas evokes all sorts of images...cowboys, horses and gun fights.  He told me he was going to Texas next month.  When I asked him which city, he furred up his brow trying to remember.  I suggested Dallas and he said, "Yes! Dallas!"  Well...it only made sense.

We had our picture taken and then we were escorted away to a lavishly decorated sitting room.  We were greeted by the President's Head Political Analyst, Dejan Jović.  The first thing he said was, "So, I hear you are writing a book."  I was shocked that he knew this but was sure it was the result of my background check.

Professor Jović was a well spoken, intelligent man and fascinating to listen to. Having earned his doctorate at the London School of Economics he spoke English perfectly.  We shared opinions about current affairs in Croatia. He seemed genuinely interested in hearing my perspective.  He told me he wrote a book, "Yugoslavia – A State that Withered Away".  As soon as I can get my hands on it in English I plan to read it.

I decided to throw a curve ball and changed my pre-approved question to something else.  I asked him what he thought the President's greatest joys and sorrows had been while in office.  He seemed a little surprised at this question but he didn't take long to answer.  He thought the President would say that his greatest joy would be Croatia's accession to the European Union and his greatest sorrow would be the economic crisis the country is currently experiencing.  We talked about this for awhile.

Unfortunately, our time ended and we shook hands and parted.  Back at the last security check point we were handed back our devices and a parting gift of note pads and pens with the Presidential seal.  What a great souvenir!

This entire opportunity was made possible by my landlords and friends, Sanja and Dragan.  They were able to attend the event with me and I think they enjoyed it as much as I did.  I can't thank them enough!