The President of the Republic ( Croatian : Predsjednik / ica Republike ) is the head of state ; he or she is directly elected and serve a five @-@ year term . The president is the commander in chief of the armed forces , have the procedural duty of appointing the prime minister with the consent of the Sabor ( Parliament ) through a simple majority vote , and have some influence on foreign policy . The most recent presidential election was held on 10 January 2010 and was won by Ivo Josipović . He took the oath of office on 18 February 2010 . The constitution limit holders of the presidential office to a maximum of two terms and prevent the president from being a member of any political party . Consequently , the president @-@ elect withdraws from party membership before inauguration . President Josipović did so on 15 February 2010 .