Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic became one of the most talked about world leaders as Croatia lost to France in an attacking football display. Her pictures, wearing a Croatian jersey, while cheering on her team were broadcast to the world.
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic became one of the most talked about world leaders as Croatia lost to France in an attacking football display in the 2018 World Cup final.
Her pictures, wearing a Croatian jersey, while cheering on her team were broadcast to the world.
After the match, she was her effusive self, giving hugs to players from both sides and sharing light moments with France president Macron, who was on the verge of exploding with joy.
Grabar- Kitarovic was born on April 29, 1968 in Rijeka in the Croatian part of Yugoslavia. She studied for a year at Los Alamos High School in New Mexico, and also studied in Zagreb, Vienna, Washington DC and Harvard, before completing her doctoral studies in her home country.
Read: Who won the Golden Boot?
She is also a multi-linguist, fluent in Croatian, English, Spanish and Portuguese, and also understands German, French and Italian. The world sure needs more leaders like her.
Check out pics of her celebration
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Earlier, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a Croatian soccer shirt with the name "Putin" printed on the back on Sunday, hours before Croatia play France in the World Cup final in Moscow.
Croatia has been caught up in soccer fever after the Balkan nation of 4.2 million people swept aside more fancied opponents to reach its first ever World Cup final, which Russia is hosting this year.
Grabar-Kitarovic has, herself, entered into the spirit of the occasion, travelling to Russia to watch matches and dressing in the colours of the national flag. Croatia knocked Russia's team out of the competition in the quarter-finals.
At a Kremlin meeting, Putin congratulated the Croatian president on the Croatian team's performance.
"I'm sure we will see a beautiful game today," he said. Grabar-Kitarovic thanked Putin for what she said was the successful organisation of the competition.
Putin presented her with a bouquet of flowers, while she gave the Russian leader the Croatian national shirt.
French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Russia's President Putin for his "perfect" organisation of the World Cup as the two leaders prepared to watch the final today.
Macron and his wife Brigitte met the Russian leader at the Kremlin today afternoon before the match between France and Croatia at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
Macron told Putin he wanted "to congratulate you as the organising country for how well this event has passed off. It has not only been watched around the world, but the whole world has come here" to watch it.
"To do it in safe conditions and with everything going perfectly was a challenge, so well done for that." Putin congratulated France for having reached the final.
"I am sure we will see an interesting, intense, close match which millions of spectators across the world will enjoy," he said.
With inputs from PTI
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