Darinko Kosor said this would be the first time in 14 years that the HSLS would be running on its own because it "does not want to hide behind other parties".
Criticising the rule of the Croatian Democratic Party (HDZ) at the state level and of the Social Democratic party (SDP) in the Croatian capital, he said that his party would like to offer the third political option and the third way to the Croatians.
The former long-standing HSLS leader Drazen Budisa said that Croatia was characterised by efforts to modernise the society and meet requirements for its integration into international institutions.
"On the other hand, we are still living in a country with a suspended market and with a privatised personnel policy," Budisa said, adding that the worst thing was widespread corruption "from top to bottom".
The HSLS convention, held under the slogan "Responsibly for Croatia", brought together 2,000 delegates.
In attendance were also officials of Liberal parties from Croatia's neighbourhood, including Slovenian Interior Minister Katarina Kresal, who said that one of the missions of liberalism was to offer resistance to the trend of narrowing democratic discourse and awareness.