JURUSIC APPOINTED VICE-PRESIDENT OF CROATIA'S HOUSE OF COUNTIES

ZAGREB, Feb 1 (Hina) - The House of Counties on Tuesday relieved a Vice-President, Bozidar Pankretic, a deputy of the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), of his duties and chose Petar Jurusic to this office. Following the recent election for the Croatian National Parliament's House of Representatives, Pankretic became Agriculture Minister in the new Government led by Premier Ivica Racan. The credentials and privileges committee of the Croatian National Sabor House of Counties on Tuesday allowed a total of six former deputies to leave their tenure in the upper house and be replaced with another new six representatives. After the ballot for the lower house, the members of the upper house - Ivan Ninic, Zvonimir Sabati, Zeljko Pecek, Bozidar Pankretic, Vilim Herman and Valter Drandic - were relieved of duties in the House of Counties so that they can assume posts either in the House of Representatives or in the executive power. Ninic, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), will be replaced with Branko Sruk. Sabati, Pecek and Pankretic, HSS members, will be replaced with Miroslav Pecevski, Ivan Bajt and Mirko Dreta respectively. A deputy of the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) Vilim Herman is to be replaced with Zeljko Rezic, while a deputy of the Istrian Democratic Alliance (IDS) Valter Drandic (whose tenure has been frozen to date) is to be replaced with Aldo Skira. At the beginning of its 37th session, the upper house endorsed those replacements at the proposal of the credentials and privileges committee. Ivan Ninic, who has been one of most active and vociferous opposition deputies in the House of Counties, today presented the upper house's President Katica Ivanisevic with a bunch of flowers at his departure from that house. He stressed that his strident remarks and discussions were not personally directed and that he would cherish pleasant memories of his work in the House of Counties. The agenda of this year's first session of the House of Counties consists of six items. Deputies are expected today to consider amendments to laws on the structure of the Government, jurisdiction and scope of activities of ministries and state administrative organisations. At the very beginning of the 37th session, House of County members observed a minute of silence in memory of Croatia's first President Franjo Tudjman, who passed away on 10 December 1999, and in memory of fallen soldiers and civilian victims of the Homeland War. (hina) ms