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Ivana Kekin

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Ivana Kekin
Kekin in 2024
Member of the Croatian Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 September 2021
Preceded byRada Borić
ConstituencyDistrict I
Member of the Zagreb Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 June 2021
President of New Left
Incumbent
Assumed office
13 September 2020
Preceded byDragan Markovina
Personal details
Born
Ivana Novosel[1]

(1984-01-24) 24 January 1984 (age 41)
Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia
Political partyWe Can! (since 2022)
New Left (since 2016)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2007)​
Children2

Ivana Kekin (née Novosel;[1] born 24 January 1984) is a Croatian psychiatrist, psychotherapist and politician who has served as member of the Croatian Parliament and vice president of Zagreb Assembly since 2021. She is a member of We Can! and, since 2020, president of New Left.[2]

Early life and education

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Ivana Novosel was born in 1984 in Zagreb. She grew up in Sveti Ivan Zelina, in a household of eight, where she completed elementary school and a general gymnasium. In 2002, she moved to Zagreb and enrolled in the University of Zagreb's School of Medicine, graduating in 2008.[3] During her studies she met her future husband Mile Kekin. In 2010, she got a job at Sermon, a clinical trial company, and worked there until she enrolled for specilization in psychiatry at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb in 2011.[4][5] Ivana Kekin passed her exam in psychiatry in 2016, and received her doctorate in 2018 from the School of Medicine for her doctoral thesis "Cerebral Flow Velocity in Patients with a First Psychotic Episode". In 2020, she became a subspecialist in psychotherapy at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb.[6]

Political career

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In January 2016, after the 2015 parliamentary elections, Kekin joined New Left dissatisfied with the actions of the new government led by Tomislav Karamarko's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). She participated in the Croatia Can Do Better protest for a new school curriculum reform on 1 June, and gave a speech emphasizing that it was a protest for the future and "... [kids] who will not fill out buses to Stuttgart but will know how to do well here".[6][7]

Croatian Parliament

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During the 2020 parliamentary election in July, Kekin ran for member of the Croatian Parliament in the electoral district VII for the Green–Left Coalition, which went on to win one seat that went to Rada Borić.[8] In September 2020, Kekin became the president of New Left.[9] In September 2021, she became a member of the Croatian Parliament as Borić's deputy, who left to focus on the politics of Zagreb.[10] Shortly after, in October, Kekin joined several committees: Committee on Health and Social Policy, Committee on Family, Youth and Sport, Committee on Interparliamentary Cooperation, Committee on Justice and Committee on Gender Equality.[11] During her term, she has been active on the issues of healthcare privatization, mental health of the youth, problem gambling and femicide.

In early 2023, she led the Not Good for Maritime Resources (Croatian: Nije dobro za pomorsko dobro) campaign in response to an amendment that would have allowed for the granting of public maritime resources to private concessions "for periods of several dozen years", as part of a broader change of the Maritime Domain and Sea Ports Act. Public hearings were held and a petition against the amendment collected around 30,000 signatures, resulting in it being dropped from the final law.[12][13][14][15] Kekin's work also contributed to new amendments to the Gambling Act, which saw overwhelming support from all parties with 131 votes for, out of 151. Among new laws are a ban on slot machines in cafés and stricter advertising rules.[16][17]

During her term, from 2021 to 2024, she was a substitute member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.[18]

On 16 May 2024, in the 2024 Croatian parliamentary election, Kekin was reelected to the Croatian Parliament in the electoral district I. On 25 May, she became president of the Committee for Health and Social Policy, and in June joined the Committee for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities.[19]

Zagreb Assembly

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In May 2021, Kekin was elected to the Zagreb Assembly, and became its vice president in June.[20][21] For the duration of her first term, she spoke in the Assembly only six times.[22] She was reelected in June 2025.[23]

European Parliament elections

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During the 2024 European Parliament election in June, despite being at the bottom of the We Can! list, Kekin was elected to the European Parliament with over 11,000 votes, or 25% of the preferential votes.[24] She ceded her seat to Gordan Bosanac in order to focus on domestic politics, adding that "as a team, we know very well that at this moment the most competent person for this [position] is Gordan Bosanac."[25]

2024 Croatian presidential elections

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Kekin announcing her presidential campaign

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Kekin launched her campaign on 10 September 2024. She was the We Can! candidate with a campaign slogan "President of the New Generation".[26] She ran on a green-left and progressive platform, with an emphasis on the problems in the healthcare system, such as expensive public-private contracts for medical scans and corruption, especially after former Minister of Health Vili Beroš was arrested in November 2024 for corruption charges.[27][28][29] The total sum earned from donations to her campaign was €41,926, the average donation being little under €30.[30] By 10 December, she accumulated 18,000 signatures, enough to make her an official candidate.[31] She got 144,533 votes or 8.89% of the total vote in the first round, placing her fourth overall–5,902 votes behind Marija Selak Raspudić.[32] Following the results, she endorsed Zoran Milanović for the runoffs.[33]

Political positions

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Healthcare

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During her term, she has been active on the issue of healthcare privatization, more precisely public-private contracts between the government and private clinics. She criticized the 2024 presidential candidate Dragan Primorac, endorsed by HDZ and the owner of a private hospital Sv. Katarina, because he had received €3.5 million from the Ministry of Health from 2013 to 2023 for examinations and medical procedures.[34] Kekin has claimed that these contracts are more expensive than medical equipment that would do the same scans, costing the average taxpayer more money, claiming that "everyone knew, healthcare was being left in the hands of entrepreneurs close to HDZ."[35][36]

Mental health

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Psychiatrist herself, she emphasized the need to "have a strong and systematic support network for both parents and children" in order to better combat the mental health illness that affects around 50,000 children and adolescents in Croatia.[37] That would include universities expanding their capacity to educate and train more pediatric psychiatrists, as there are currently only 55, opening more mental health facilities across the country and hiring more school psychologists.[38][39]

Gambling and betting addiction

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In 2024, during her presidential campaign, Kekin claimed that gambling directly affects 40,000 Croatian citizens and that tackling the issue is going to be one of her top priorities as president.[40][41] She advocates for stronger regulation on gambling and betting, including bans on slot machines in cafés, on advertisements featuring influencers and famous athletes, and on all betting shops in close proximity to kindergartens and schools.[42][43]

Women's rights

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Kekin is an active advocate for women's abortion rights and supports amending abortion to the Croatian Constitution.[44][45] She also advocates for equality in the labour market and equal representation of men and women in political life.[46][47] Kekin has been vocal on the issues of violence against women and femicide, saying that "it seems like not a month goes by in Croatia without news of a murdered woman."[48] She advocates for increased governmental efforts to ensure women's safety in reporting abuse and seeking help, and that victims of abuse should be provided with safe housing, as well as legal and emotional support.[49]

Personal life

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Kekin is married to Mile Kekin, frontman of the punk rock band Hladno Pivo, with whom she has a son and a daughter. She also appeared in Hladno Pivo's 2013 music video "Bilo koji broj" ("Any Number").[1] Mile Kekin also sang about her in his 2025 solo single "Ilica i marica" ("Ilica and a Black Maria"; a pun on "Ivica i Marica", meaning "Hansel and Gretel").[50]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Buva, Mia (9 June 2020). "Tko je samozatajna Ivana? Ugledna liječnica Kekina je nagovorila na ulazak u politiku". Večernji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Od punka preko psihijatrije do utrke za Pantovčak: Tko je Ivana Kekin, žena koja se ne boji skresati svima što ih ide". tportal.hr. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Kekin, Ivana". www.sabor.hr (in Croatian). 16 May 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  4. ^ Petrak, Andrej (13 February 2023). "Ivana Kekin otkrila što je to radila u firmi Željke Markić". Novi list. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  5. ^ Vidov, Petar (22 November 2016). "Pronašli smo misterioznu firmu Željke Markić, posluje u Srbiji". Faktograf.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Ivana Kekin - biografija". www.ivanakekin.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Oko 40 tisuća ljudi prosvjedovalo za reformu obrazovanja". tportal.hr. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  8. ^ "ZBIRNA LISTA PRAVOVALJANIH LISTA ZA IZBOR ZASTUPNIKA U HRVATSKI SABOR U VII. IZBORNOJ JEDINICI" (PDF). izbori.hr. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  9. ^ gzubak (14 September 2020). "Ivana Kekin izabrana za predsjednicu Nove ljevice". Nova ljevica - Napokon ljevica! (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Jutarnji list - Rada Borić odlazi iz Sabora: 'Iskustvo je sada značajnije pokazati u funkcioniranju gradske Skupštine'". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 30 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Kekin, Ivana". sabor.hr (in Croatian). 15 September 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Kekin: Peticiju 'Nije dobro za pomorsko dobro' potpisalo više od 25.000 građana". tportal.hr. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Dubrovački - Snaga 30 tisuća potpisa prikupljenih u kampanji 'Nije dobro za pomorsko dobro' sačuvao je naše plaže i obalu kao opće dobro". dubrovacki.slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian). 9 July 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Održana tribina "Nije dobro za pomorsko dobro": Prijedlog novog zakona pun rupa". torpedo.media (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  15. ^ "Možemo! Pula: Nije dobro za pomorsko dobro". Regionalexpress.hr. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o igrama na sreću". narodne-novine.nn.hr. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  17. ^ "Svi bili 'za' Zakon o igrama na sreću, evo što će sve biti strože". tportal.hr. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  18. ^ "Ms Ivana Kekin (Croatia, UEL)". Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
  19. ^ "Kekin, Ivana". sabor.hr (in Croatian). 16 May 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  20. ^ "KONSTITUIRAJUĆA SJEDNICA GRADSKE SKUPŠTINE GRADA ZAGREBA 2021". skupstina.zagreb.hr. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Potpredsjednici". skupstina.zagreb.hr. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Mi ih plaćamo, a oni sjede i šute: Ivanu Kekin u Skupštini se čulo tek šest puta, a apsolutni rekorder je HDZ-ovac". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  23. ^ "SKUPŠTINA GRADA ZAGREBA" (PDF). izbori.hr. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  24. ^ "REZULTATI IZBORA ČLANOVA U EUROPSKI PARLAMENT IZ REPUBLIKE HRVATSKE" (PDF). izbori.hr. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  25. ^ "Iako je osvojila daleko najviše glasova, Ivana Kekin se odrekla mandata: 'U Bruxelles ide naš Bosanac'". www.telegram.hr. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  26. ^ "Jutarnji list - Ivana Kekin predstavila kandidaturu za predsjednicu RH: 'Razmišljajući o tome stalno sam se vraćala na jedno pitanje...'". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 10 September 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  27. ^ "Kekin: U fokusu tema dostupnog zdravstva". Hrvatska radiotelevizija (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  28. ^ Valentina, Pavlica (15 November 2024). "Stigle prve fotografije. Policija upala Berošu u kuću, smijenjenog ministra brani odvjetnica koja je zastupala Modrića i Hernadija". www.telegram.hr. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  29. ^ "Kekin o Berošu: Političari nisu zaštitili javno zdravstvo. Ni Milanović nije 5 godina riječ rekao o tome". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  30. ^ "Gong otkrio cifre koje su kandidati potrošili za kampanju, jedan uvjerljivo vodi". net.hr (in Croatian). 12 February 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  31. ^ "Kekin otkrila koliko je potpisa skupila i poručila: "Vrijeme za predsjednicu nove generacije"". Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  32. ^ "Rezultati - Izbori za predsjednika RH 2024". www.izbori.hr. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  33. ^ "FOTO/VIDEO Kekin: "Za dva tjedna zaokružit ću Milanovića na izborima"". Dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  34. ^ "Jutarnji list - Doznajemo koliki je iznos država u 10 godina isplatila privatnoj bolnici Dragana Primorca za preglede i terapije". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 8 November 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  35. ^ Kanazir, Ana (11 July 2024). "Neke poliklinike i druge zdravstvene ustanove su potpisale ugovor s HZZO-om, donosimo popis". mirovina.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  36. ^ "'Svi su znali, zdravstvo se prepušta u ruke poduzetnicima bliskima HDZ-u'". www.vecernji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  37. ^ "Kekin (Možemo): Ovisnost o kockanju izravno pogađa 40.000 ljudi". Hrvatska radiotelevizija (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  38. ^ student (16 September 2024). "TOČNO: U Hrvatskoj je svega 55 dječjih i adolescentnih psihijatara na 50 tisuća djece u potrebi". Zagreb Newslab. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  39. ^ Topolčić, Ana-Marija (24 January 2024). "Mentalno zdravlje djece i mladih je u kritičnom stanju, pričali smo s psihijatricom Ivanom Kekin". Journal.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  40. ^ "Kekin: Imamo 250.000 pogođenih kockanjem, treba hitno mijenjati zakon". www.index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  41. ^ "KEKIN 'Miču se kladomati iz kafića. To sam izborila, zamislite što ću tek kao predsjednica'". NACIONAL.HR (in Croatian). 24 December 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  42. ^ "KAO DA NISMO U EU 'Ako se ne reklamiraju cigarete i žestoka pića, zašto se reklamiraju kladionice?'". NACIONAL.HR (in Croatian). 26 February 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  43. ^ "Jutarnji list - Ivana Kekin: 'Izbacila sam kladomate iz kafića. Zamislite što ću napraviti kao predsjednica'". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 24 December 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  44. ^ "Kekin: Većina istih liječnika još prije 10-ak godina nije imala priziv savjesti". N1 (in Croatian). 6 May 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  45. ^ "Ivana Kekin: U praksi je pravo na pobačaj nedohvatljivo za tisuće žena". N1 (in Croatian). 8 July 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  46. ^ C, A. (31 October 2024). "Ivana Kekin (Možemo!) u Rijeci: "Ravnopravnost žena znači napredak za sve, za društvo u cjelini!"". Riportal (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  47. ^ "IVANA KEKIN: 'Zoran Milanović me razočarao kao predsjednik, a njegov tuđmanizam unosi nemir u cijelu regiju'". NACIONAL.HR (in Croatian). 22 August 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  48. ^ "Gloria - Ivana Kekin: "Sa svakim slučajem femicida na tren se poistovjetim i pomislim kako bi mi bilo da je u pitanju moje dijete"". www.gloria.hr (in Croatian). 12 July 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  49. ^ Fiuman.hr (1 November 2024). "Kekin u Rijeci: Moramo početi vraćati vjeru u institucije, jer je trenutna poruka institucija ženama da nasilje ne prijavljuju" (in Croatian). Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  50. ^ M. K. (5 June 2025). "ILICA I MARICA Mile Kekin ima pjesmu o hapšenju: Ispala je bijesna, žestoka i gnjevna jer se tako osjećam..." Nacional (in Croatian). Retrieved 10 June 2025.
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