The Croat and other Slavic tribes arrived in what is today Croatia and Bosnia in the 7th century. The Croats organized into two dukedoms; the Pannonian duchy in the north and the Dalmatian duchy in the south. The Christianization of the Croats ended in the 9th century.
The country was ruled by a ban in the name of the king, elevating that previously existing rank to a position of highest importance in Croatia. A single ban governed all Croatian provinces until 1225, when the authority was split between one ban of The Whole of Slavonia and one ban of Dalmatia and Croatia. The positions were intermittently held by the same person after 1345, and officially merged back into one by 1476.
The Chamber of Counties or Županijski Dom used to be composed of three deputies from each of the 21 counties (županije). However, as it had no practical power over the Chamber of Representatives, in 2001, the Chamber was abolished and whatever powers it had were transferred directly to the county governments.
The Croatian people trace their origins to Slavic peoples which moved into the territory of the former Roman provinces Pannonia and Dalmatia between the 7th and 8th centuries. No contemporary written records about these events have been preserved, especially not about the events as a whole and from the area itself. Instead, historians rely on records written several centuries after the facts, and even those records may be based on oral tradition.
The later kings sought to restore their influence by giving certain privileges to the towns, making them Royal Boroughs or Free Royal Towns (similar to the Free Cities in the Holy Roman Empire), which the kings defended from the feudal lords in return for the town's support.
The president has limited executive powers, he is still commander-of-chief of the armed forces, he cooperates in formulation and execution of the foreign policy and the national security policy, represents Croatia home and abroad, convenes Parliament and can bring issues at Government. Main and the most essential duty of the President is that he is granted power to issue decress with the force of law during war time.
Unemployment reached a peak of circa 22% in late 2002 due to many overdue bankruptcies. It has since been steadily decreasing, powered by growing industrial production and rising GDP rather than only seasonal changes (tourism). The GDP rose to the level it had in 1990 only 2003.
The last parliamentary elections were held November 23 2003.
Rapid industrialization and diversification occurred after World War II. Decentralization came in 1965, allowing growth of certain sectors, like the tourist industry. Profits from Croatian industry were used to develop poorer regions in the former Yugoslavia. This, coupled with austerity programs and hyperinflation in the 1980s, led to discontent in both Croatia and Slovenia that fueled the independence movement.
The Iron Age left traces of the Hallstatt culture (proto-Illyrians) and the La Tčne culture (proto-Celts).