At the head of the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds, Šimo Erlić will be replaced by Nataša Mikuš Žigman, who was previously State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy and has extensive experience in managing large systems in the state and private sectors.
Mikuš Žigman has extensive experience working and managing large systems in the state and private sectors, especially in matters related to Croatia's negotiations for entry into the European Union, preparation and contracting of European projects, and management of systems for the use of EU funds, as highlighted in his CV.
She served as State Secretary in the Government for two terms, the first time from 2016 to 2020 at the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, and the second time from 2020 to 2022 at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.
She worked on the preparation of strategic documents for the use of pre-accession programs of the European Union in Croatia, preparation of project and tender documents for projects financed by the European Union and the World Bank, supervision of projects, as well as training of civil servants on EU funds.
From 2005 to 2011, she was Deputy State Secretary at the Central State Office for Development Strategy and Coordination of European Union Funds, and during her mandate she participated in the development of the Strategic Framework for Development 2006-2013 (National Development Strategy), the preparation of strategic documents for the use of EU pre-accession and structural funds, and the establishment of the entire institutional system for the management of pre-accession programs and structural funds in Croatia.
She was the head of the working group for Chapter 22 of the negotiations with the European Union - Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments.
From 2012 to 2016, she was the Director of the Central Agency for Finance and Contracting of EU Programmes and Projects, and from January 2023 to July 2025, she was the Director of the Business Sustainability and Green Transformation Sector at Podravka.
She is a professor of German and English language and literature, with a degree from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb. She holds a master's degree in contemporary European studies from the Sussex European Institute in Brighton, UK.
She also earned the title of university specialist in European Union economics at the Faculty of Economics, University of Zagreb.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced on Wednesday, after a coalition meeting, that Nataša Mikuš Žigman would replace Šima Erlić as head of the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds.
Photo: HINA/ Dario GRZELJ
