"I swear on my honour that I will perform the duties of President of the Republic of Croatia conscientiously and responsibly for the benefit of the Croatian people and all Croatian citizens. As the head of state, I will abide by the Constitution and law, ensure respect for the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of Croatia, oversee the proper and fair functioning of all state authorities, and protect the independence, existence and unity of the Republic of Croatia. So help me God," Milanovic swore during the ceremony at the President's Office at Pantovcak, with his hand on the Constitution, before signing the oath.

Milanovic's new five-year term officially begins on Wednesday, and as President of the Republic, he also serves as Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces.

The role of institutions is to safeguard peace and security of citizens


"It is necessary to build and refine legal and societal mechanisms that will help ensure that in difficult times we do not falter, either materially or mentally, and that in times of prosperity, we maintain a sense of reality and connection with solid ground," said the President, who also serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces.

Addressing the Croatian citizens and guests, Milanovic remarked that in the life of a nation, or a state, as well as in the life of an individual, the change between good and bad times, gloomy and bright days, is inevitable.

"We must navigate with the awareness that life is not just calm seas and a favourable wind. Let that awareness be our guide. It is a firm guarantee of uprightness and composure, regardless of the direction or the strength of the winds and waves," he said.

The fundamental task of state institutions, he added, is to safeguard the peace and security of citizens, not only in the most basic, physical sense.

"Another, almost equally important goal is to ensure that difficult times do not become dramatic times. Also, that the burden does not fall disproportionately on the weakest and most vulnerable, and that the good years do not only benefit those closest to the centres of power, the most aggressive or the most competent," the president stated.

Inequality and corruption, he warned, insidiously undermine the social structure like a deadly disease.