Ambassador Krunić as Permanent Representative of Montenegro to the Council of Europe

Ambassador Božidarka Krunić presented her credentials to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić, therefore officially taking office as the Permanent Representative of Montenegro to the Council of Europe.

Ambassador Krunić thanked the Secretary General for the support that Council of Europe provides to Montenegro through expertise of her working bodies and emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation, especially in the context of our aspirations for the membership in the EU. Krunić stressed the importance of co-operation with the Venice Commission, since the Council of Europe carefully follows the implementation of recommendations given by this body.

Krunić reiterated that Montenegro stays committed to the values cherished by the oldest pan-European organization.

Pejčinović Burić welcomed Ambassador Krunić and wished her success in her work. Secretary General expressed pleasure when it comes to co-operation between Council of Europe and Montenegro, and a constructive approach which our country shows in implementing the standards in the area of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. She agreed that reports of the Council are very important for further progress of Montenegro towards the EU, and reiterated that our country has no open issues with this organization.

Ambassador Krunić is a long-term career diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade. At the Mediterranean Diplomatic Academy in Malta, she defended her master's thesis "Restrictions on human rights in anti-terrorist acts adopted after September 11, 2001." She began her professional engagement in the Constitutional Court of Montenegro in 1999, after which she worked as an advisor for international legal affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro from 2000-2001. She continued her diplomatic career in the Mission of Montenegro to the EU in Brussels as an advisor in 2002-2003. and as Chargé d'Affaires from 2003-2004. After her engagement in Belgium, Ambassador Krunić worked as a Senior Adviser in the EU and NATO Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2005-2007, and for the next three years as the First Adviser for Justice and Home Affairs at the Permanent Mission of Montenegro to the European Union in Brussels. From 2010 to 2015, as an Ambassador, she was the head of the International Legal Service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. At the same time, she was appointed a member of the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law of the Council of Europe (CAHDI), where she was engaged for five years. She continued her career as the Permanent Representative of Montenegro to the Council of Europe (CoE) from 2015-2019. Ambassador Krunić chaired the Working Group on Social and Health Affairs of the Council of Europe from 2016 to 2018, after which she was hired as a legal advisor in the Secretariat of the Venice Commission from 2019 until her current appointment as Permanent Representative of Montenegro to the Council of Europe.

She was awarded the Order of the Knight of the Italian Star on June 2^nd, 2013. for her special contribution to the improvement of legal relations between Montenegro and the Republic of Italy. She has participated in numerous scientific conferences on international relations and international law. She speaks English, French and Slovenian. She is married and a mother of two children.