Dr. Ivo Sanader (Split, 8 June 1953.), Croatian politician and convicted felon who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009.

Following the death of Franjo Tudjman Sanader was elected leader of the HDZ party in 2000 and again in 2002, and led the party to victory in the 2003 and 2007 election, becoming Croatia's Prime Minister. In June 2009, Sanader abruptly resigned his post, leaving scarce explanation for his actions and disappearing from public life for a while. In January 2010 Sanader tried to stage a political comeback within the HDZ, but was ejected from party membership.

The Croatian Democratic Union (Croatian: Hrvatska demokratska zajednica commonly known under acronym HDZ) is a conservative political party and the main center-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croatia, along with the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). It is currently the second-largest party in the Croatian Parliament with 41 seats. HDZ ruled Croatia from 1990 to 2000 and, in coalition with junior partners, from 2003 to 2011. The party is a member of the European People's Party (EPP).The HDZ was founded in 17 June 1989 by Croatian dissidents led by Franjo Tuđman. When the party was founded, the multi-party system in Croatia was at an embryonic stage.