Today is a memorial day in Croatia which marks the decision of the Croatian parliament for Croatia to declare independence from Yugoslavia, made back on June 25, 1991.
This decision was preceded by a referendum held on 19 May 1991, where 94 percent of the citizens decided Croatia was not to remain in Yugoslavia but was to achieve independence.
The parliament introduced a three-month moratorium on its decision and after it expired, on 8 October 1991, it declared Croatia’s full independence.
That act marked the beginning of the process of gaining independence, which is why it is considered a watershed in the country’s recent history.
For 19 years, from 2001 – 2019, June 25 was observed as Statehood Day, a national holiday and non-working day.For the past four years, June 25 is a working memorial day.
In 2019, the Croatian Parliament adopted a new law on holidays and moved Statehood Day back to its original date of 30 May.
