Zdravko Vukić, director of the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency

Zdravko Vukić graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Osijek and holds a master’s degree in public administration. He further pursued studies in business economy and globalization in Zagreb, earning a master’s degree in economics from Libertas International University. Zdravko also possesses an internationally accredited ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Lead Auditor certificate in information security management systems, specializing in information security, cyber security, and privacy protection. Currently, he is finalizing his postgraduate studies with a thesis on Technical and Organizational Measures and Data Security.

From 2005 to 2016, he served as the Chief Human Resources Officer overseeing the organization’s employees and legal affairs. Additionally, between 2008 and 2016, he held the position of Data Protection Officer.

Between 2016 and 2020, Zdravko held the role of Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning, where he supervised the operations of the Directorates for Inspection Affairs, Supervision, and Information System Development.

In 2020, he was appointed as the Director of the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency, and in February 2024 he was re-elected for another four-year term as director. On 19 June 2024 the Members of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) elected Zdravko Vukić as Deputy Chair of the European Data Protection Board.

Zdravko is a guest lecturer on personal data protection at various faculties in Croatia and is a member of the National Cybersecurity Council. He is a guest lecturer on personal data protection at several faculties in Croatia and a member of the National Cybersecurity Council.

He has also been active recently in the European Union instrument for institutional cooperation between Public Administrations of EU Member States and non-EU countries aimed at harmonizing the national legislation with the EU legislation in the field of personal data protection, as well as in EU-funded project ARC implemented successfully in cooperation with the Irish Data Protection Authority.

Under his leadership, in 2022 the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency organized the Spring Conference of the European Supervisory Authorities, the most important forum for cooperation among European regulatory authorities.

He played a key role in the implementation of the EU-funded project ARC I, implemented with Irish DPA, which aimed to support SMEs in aligning with the GDPR. Currently, he serves as a member of the Steering Committee for the ARC II project. This collaborative venture between the Croatian DPA and Garante Privacy focuses on creating an innovative GDPR compliance tool to aid SMEs and DPOs in complying with data protection regulations effectively.

In 2024 Zdravko Vukić has been elected as a deputy Chair of the European Data Protection Board. https://www.edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2024/zdravko-vukic-elected-new-deputy-chair-european-data-protection-board_en