OFFICIALS

Zdravko Ponoš was born on November 3, 1962 in Knin.

Education:

He graduated from the Military Technical Academy in Zagreb in 1986, and received his M.Sc. degree at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade. He finished the one year program of the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. His education includes international relations, security and leadership courses attended in the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and the George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. During his education and his active military career, Mr. Ponoš published a number of papers in the fields of telecommunications, defence and security, both in the country and abroad.

Career:

He was an active military officer since his graduation from the Military Technical Academy in 1986, until the end of 2009. Most of the duties he performed were related to the electronic warfare.

From 2002-2005 he worked in the Defence Policy Sector of the Ministry of Defence, where he held positions of the Chief of Section for Integrations and the Chief of the Department for International Military Cooperation.

In October 2005 he was appointed the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and from June to December 2006 he was the Acting Chief of the General Staff.

He was the Chief of the General Staff from December 2006 to December 2008. Mr. Ponoš ended his active military service in December 2009.

In the period 2005-2006, Mr. Ponoš was the Chairman of the Multinational Advisory Group of the Regional Arms Control Verification and Implementation Assistance Centre (RACVIAC) in Zagreb.

In January 2010 he was appointed the Assistant Minister – Director-General (Directorate-General for Bilateral Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

He speaks English and uses Russian.

Mr. Ponoš is married and has one daughter.