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Croatia’s Former President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic Visiting SSE For a Special Event on Global Leadership - Reflections from Sports, Politics and Business

On March 8th, the Stockholm School of Economics had the pleasure of welcoming Croatia’s first female President, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, to a special event in the Aula where she shared her thoughts on global leadership, sports, politics, and business.

The event, arranged by the Center for Sports and Business at the Stockholm School of Economics, attracted over 280 persons to the audience at the Aula as Grabar-Kitarovic spoke about global leadership and her experiences from the International Olympic Committee, politics, and NATO. 

Elected as Member of the Croatian Parliament in 2003, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic served as Croatia’s first female Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador to the United States, Mexico, Panama, and the Organisation of American States, as well as the first female Assistant Secretary General and member of the NATO Senior Leadership before serving as the 4th (and 1st female) President of Croatia. Since then she has been Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders, was elected an independent member of the International Olympic Committee (in 2020), and has been appointed Chair of the Future Hosts Commission for the Games of the Olympiad. Currently, she is a Special Advisor to the Dean of the Zagreb School of Economics and Management.

imageu1b1i.pngKolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and Martin Carlsson-Wall (Director for Center for Sports and Business) 

Martin Carlsson-Wall, Director for the Center for Sports and Business, says: "It was fantastic to host President Grabar-Kitarovic during four days in Stockholm. The support and interest from key stakeholders within the SSE community have been amazing. President Grabar-Kitarovic is a global leader which has achieved so many things in her career. From a sports perspective, her role as Chair of the International Olympic Committee's Future Host Commission is very interesting and relevant to the research we are doing at the Center. We look forward to deepening our relationship with her and the Zagreb School of Economics and Management."

Grabar-Kitarovic's speech at the Stockholm School of Economics was part of a four-day trip to Stockholm the former President of Croatia conducted. Except for the visit to SSE, Grabar-Kitarovic also had a meeting at Business Sweden's headquarters in Stockholm, visited Stockholm City Hall, and met representatives from the Swedish Olympic Committee at Stockholms Stadion.

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic at the headquarters of Business Sweden in Stockholm 

Kolinda at Stockholm City Hall

Grabar-Kitarovic at Stockholms Stadion with a Swedish Olympic Committee representative and students from SSE

Sports and Business