Commodore Ivica Tolić is a flag officer of the Croatian Armed Forces with extensive expertise in military and security affairs. In the European elections in 2014 he was a candidate for the Croatian Democratic Union with the support of Croatian war veterans. He was a volunteer during the Croatian War of Independence from 20 July 1991 until the end of the war in 1996. He was awarded several times for bravery and merit throughout his career. He held a large number of high-level military commands during the war and in peacetime: Deputy Commander, 3rd Infantry Battalion, 4th ZNG Brigade (1991); Commander, 3rd Infantry Battalion, 4th ZNG Brigade (1991-1992); Commander, 53rd Marine Battalion (1993-1994); Chief of Staff of the Southern Battlefield (1994-1995); Commander of the Southern Battlefield (1995-1996); Chief of Staff of the IV Military District of the Croatian Army (1996); Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Croatian Navy (1996-1998), Commander of the Military-Maritime Sector South Adriatic (1999-2003); Fleet Commander of the Croatian Navy (2003-2008). He obtained an Engineer’s Degree in Maritime Transport at the Maritime Faculty in Rijeka and a Master’s Degree in Economics at the Faculty of Economy in Split. In addition, he has attended several military schools and courses, including: the Naval Military Academy in Split (1991), Command-Staff School of the Croatian Army in Zagreb (1994), War School of the Croatian Armed Forces in Zagreb (1999), Senior Executive Course in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (2000), and the NATO Defence College in Rome (2005). He speaks fluent Croatian and English. He is married and has two sons. MEP since 2016.