(1st term 2026-2029)
Zvonimir Penić is the Acting Director General of the Directorate for Prison System and Probation within the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation of the Republic of Croatia, a position he has held since August 2022. He is responsible for the overall management, strategic development and coordination of the Croatian prison system, including policy development, operational oversight, system-wide standards and international cooperation, while also overseeing the probation service.
Zvonimir is a social worker by profession, holding a degree from the Study Centre for Social Work at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb. With more than 29 years of experience in the enforcement of criminal sanctions, he has built his career from the ground up, starting as a social worker at Zagreb County Prison and progressing through roles as prison governor and head of Treatment Sector at the Central Office of the Directorate for Prison System and Probation before reaching his current position. This path has given him a strong connection between operational practice and strategic system development, grounded in a solid understanding of the prison system’s legal, financial and policy framework.
Throughout his career, he has been extensively engaged in international cooperation, participating in numerous expert meetings, conferences and study visits. As an international consultant, he was involved in various projects related to the development and professionalization of prison and alternative sanctions, as well as post-penal care. For instance, he served as a short-term expert on EU-funded projects supporting prison system reforms in Morocco and as a long-term expert on an IPA 2015 project in Serbia. Additionally, from 2023 to 2024, he led a project team tasked with strengthening the capacity of the Croatian probation service.
