Organization and Membership

The main bodies of the Academy are:

1. the Assembly which includes all full members of the Academy,  
2. the Presidency, the executive organ of the Assembly, which consists of the Coordinating Committee, secretaries of the departments, and five full members of the Academy who are elected by the Assembly.

The Academy consists of full, honorary corresponding, and associate members. The Academy, initiated its activities in 1866 with 16 full members, and this number has steadily grown to its current level of 160 today. Full members reserve the right to bear the title of Fellow of the Croatian Academy (F.C.A.), and they are part of the permanent working structure of the Academy. The Croatian Academy may elect as honorary members persons who are especially deserving for the development and progress of sciences and arts. Cardinal Franjo Kuharic is its sole honorary member today, while among its deceased honorary members we should mention the Nobel Laureates Linus Pauling, Vladimir Ružička, and Vladimir Prelog, as well as Teodor Wickerhauser, Don Frano Bulić, Ljubo Babić Gjalski, Alfons Mucha, Vlaho Bukovac, Celestin Medović, Ivan Zajc, Dmitri lvanovich Mendelejeff, Nikola Tesla, and other world-renowned scientists and artists.

Full members of the Academy are elected from among scientists and artists who are Croatian citizens, and who have made outstanding achievements in their particular fields.

Distinguished scientists and artists from abroad who collaborate with the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts may be elected as corresponding members. Many corresponding members of the Academy have been recipients of highest scientific and artistic awards. The maximum number of corresponding members is 160.

Distinguished younger scientists or artists from the Republic of Croatia may be chosen as associate members. This group may include a maximum of 100 members.

A special statute on the nomination and election of members of the Croatian Academy was issued by the Assembly of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts on 12 June 1996.

The Academy Assembly in sesion

The Academy's tasks are carried out through its departments. The working structure of the departments is made up of full members, while corresponding and associate members belong to their broader structure. Today the Academy consists of the following departments

1. The Department of Social Sciences
2. The Departtment of Mathematical, Physical, and Chemical Sciences
3. The Departement of Natural Sciences
4. The Departement of Medical Sciences
5. The Departement of Philological Sciences
6. The Departement of Literature
7. The Departement of Fine Arts
8. The Departement of Music and Musicology
9. The Departement of Technical Sciences

The departments are run by their secretaries, and decisions are made at departmental sessions. The Academy has a number of scientific research and artistic units in Zagreb and other Croatian towns. They are within the competence of their respective departments, and their directors are nominated by the Presidency of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts upon the recommendation of the departments. Today the Academy consists of 14 scientific councils and 6 committees, in addition to various commissions and centers which are located in Zagreb and other Croatian towns. Detailed information about these bodies will be given in the text that follows.