against former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polančec, who would later be charged with lengthy prison sentences for criminal activity and abuse of power. In foreign policy, Kosor and her Slovenian counterpart Borut Pahor were successful in solving the long-standing border dispute and she is credited with successfully finishing the negotiating process of the Croatian accession to the European Union. On 9 December 2011, she and President Ivo Josipović signed the EU Treaty of Accession in Brussels. A moderate conservative, Kosor ran for another term as party leader after losing the election, however, was defeated by the more conservative Tomislav Karamarko. After months of criticizing his leadership and the new party platform, she was expelled from HDZ by the party's High Court for damaging the party's reputation. In 2021, Kosor was awarded with the Grand Order of Queen Jelena with Sash and Morning Star by President of Croatia Zoran Milanović for "extraordinary contribution to the international position and reputation of the Republic of Croatia" and for "the development of relations between the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian people and other states and peoples." Early life Jadranka Kosor was born in Lipik to Zorica Belan and Mirko Kosor. She finished primary education in Pakrac. Her parents divorced when she was two, and she spent her childhood living with her grandmother. Her childhood friends describe her as a pretty, smart, and sociable girl that loved poetry and wrote songs. She contested on beauty pageant and was selected runner up for Miss Swimming Pool of Lipik. She studied in Zagreb, where she graduated in law and began working as a journalist from 1972 as a correspondent for Večernji list and Radio Zagreb. In 1971, her book of poetry Koraci was published by the Pakrac branch of Matica hrvatska. During the Croatian War of Independence, she worked as a radio-journalist and her show exploited war topics such as refugee problems and disabled war veterans. She also worked briefly as a correspondent for the BBC during this time. Politics In 1995, Kosor became a representative in the Croatian Parliament as a member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). She was also the vice-president of the Croatian Parliament. From 1999 to 2000, she was president of the HDZ's Women's Association Katarina Zrinski. She is credited with the number of female candidates from the HDZ in the 2000 elections doubling. Kosor was