Valentin Dujmovic from Zenica, a 37-year-old master of ecology, has the opportunity ato become the first mayor of Dubrovnik in its history who is not originally from the city under Srdj. Thus citizens of Dubrovnik, who had the first woman at the head of their town from 2001-2009, Dubravka Suica, now have the opportunity to make a new precedent and have this young and extremely ambitious man from Zenica as their mayor.
Dujmovic was born in Zenica in 1981, but as a child, before bloody wars in the former state, he moved with his parents to a small town Trpanj on the Peljesac peninsula, which is known for their excellent wines, and healing mud. Dujmovic completed elementary school in Trpanj and he finished high school in Ploce. He started his career right after the high school – he started as a representative in the insurance company, and in the end, he became the regional director in a number of insurance companies in Croatia and the region.
His rise on the political sky of Dubrovnik started back in 2013 when he became the main operative in the campaign of the member of HNS, Mayor Andro Vlahusic, and then he moved from Trpanj to Dubrovnik with his family. Vlahusic swept his competition with convincing results on the elections and won a second term. Dujmovic became director of “Sanitat”, which was engaged in the collection of money from parking in Dubrovnik and taking care of the abandoned animals. However, early elections took place in Dubrovnik in 2015.
This year of 2015 was particularly important for Valentin Dujmovic. Parliamentary elections in Croatia took place in November that year, and Dujmovic got a sixth place on the list of the Social Democratic Party and the HNS. The list won four mandates and Dujmovic won 1,005 preferential votes and he did not enter the Parliament.
After the Parliament of Croatia adopted the law according to which validly convicted persons cannot be candidates, the HNS had the problem. Their mayor Vlahusic was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence for abuse of power in the “affair Sipan”.
Vlahusic decided to send his most loyal associate in this race – Dujmovic. Since Dujmovic remained the only representative of the Left, it is expected that this political scene will homogenize in the second round and that he will manage to defeat the member of HDZ Frankovic. If that really happens, from the beginning of June, Dujmovic will lead this famous and ancient city as the first mayor born outside of Dubrovnik.
(Source: faktor.ba)
