- published: 14 Aug 2014
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Milan Bandić (Croatian pronunciation: [mǐlan bâːndit͡ɕ] ( listen), born 22 November 1955) is an influential and controversial Croatian politician currently (as of 2011) serving his fourth term as mayor of Croatia's capital, Zagreb. Between 2000 and 2009, he was a prominent member of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP). In 2007, he unsuccessfully ran for party president. However, he remained one of the main rivals of current party president Zoran Milanović. On 5 November 2009 he announced his intention to run for president, in violation of the party's bylaws (which led to his expulsion from the party). On 10 January 2010 he lost the Croatian presidential election to SDP official candidate Ivo Josipović in a runoff.
Although described in 2002 as the SDPs most popular politician for the "famous 24 hours he devotes to the service of Zagrebchanins", he has also gained notoriety for a number of actions and statements he has made as mayor. Bandić is viewed as a hands-on mayor because of his ambition and the number of projects related to Zagreb he has undertaken. He is widely credited for the renovation of Ljubljanska Avenue (now Zagrebačka Avenue), for his work on the Arena Zagreb and the Homeland Bridge (which opened during his third term).