for them to return to barracks were ignored and they acted independently. On 5 December 1991, Mesić declared his post irrelevant and resigned from the Presidency, returning to Croatia. In a statement to Croatian Parliament, he said: "I think I've accomplished my duty, Yugoslavia no longer exist[s] anymore". After 1992 Croatian parliamentary election, Mesić became the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament. He served as the Speaker from 7 September 1992 to 24 May 1994. In 1994, Mesić left the HDZ to form a new party, the Croatian Independent Democrats (Hrvatski Nezavisni Demokrati, HND). Mesić left the HDZ some 18 months after the Croat–Bosniak War in Bosnia had started. Mesić stated that this decision was motivated by his disagreement with Croatia's policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time, specifically Franjo Tuđman's alleged agreement with Slobodan Milošević in the Milošević–Tuđman Karađorđevo meeting to carve up Bosnia and Herzegovina between Croatia and Serbia and the subsequent launch of the Croat–Bosniak War. His departure matches the time of his (and Josip Manolić's) conflict with Gojko Šušak's fraction within HDZ. Earlier, in 1992, Mesić visited Široki Brijeg in 1992 in order to dismiss Stjepan Kljujić and install Mate Boban as the president of HDZ BiH, the party's branch in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mesić later described Boban as a radical nationalist and even "crazy". Mesić criticized the failed policies of privatization during the war and unresolved cases of war profiteering. In 1997 he and a part of the HND membership merged into the liberal Croatian People's Party (HNS), where Mesić became an executive vice-president. Presidency of Croatia Mesić was elected President of the Republic of Croatia in the 2000 election after winning the first round and defeating Dražen Budiša of HSLS in the second round. Mesić ran as the joint candidate of the HNS, HSS, LS and IDS. He received 41% of the vote in the first round and 56% in the second round. After becoming president, he stepped down from membership in the HNS. He heavily criticized former President Franjo Tuđman's policies as "nationalistic and authoritarian", lacking a free media and employing bad economics, while Mesić favored a more liberal approach to opening the Croatian economy to foreign investment. In September 2000 Mesić retired seven Croatian active generals who had written two open letters to the public arguing that the current government administration "is campaigning to criminalize Homeland War and that the Government is