Zoran Milanovic was elected on Saturday the new president of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as the Croatia's main opposition party is facing crucial parliamentary elections in November.

Milanovic, 41 years old, emerged as a surprise winner, beating the acting party head Zeljka Antunovic in the second round of voting at an extraordinary election convention in the capital Zagreb, the Croatian news agency HINA reported.

The second voting round was held after none of the four candidates received the required majority vote in the first round.

It is the first time for the SDP to elect its president after 17 years of rule by late president Ivica Racan, who was Croatia's prime minister in 2000-2003 and died of cancer in April.

Milanovic, who is married with two sons, graduated in law from Zagreb University, worked in the foreign ministry and at the Croatian mission to the European Union and NATO in Brussels. He joined the SDP only in 1999.

Milanovic's major challenge is to lead his party back to power after four years of being out of office.

In recent surveys, the SDP is leading in popularity, surpassing the ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union for the first time since 2003.

The SDP has announced that if it wins elections, its candidate for premier will be its economic expert Ljubo Jurcic instead of the party head.

During the rule of the SDP-led ruling coalition in 2000-2003, Croatia launched economic and political reforms that moved it closer to the European Union. The Croatian Democratic Union followed the trend and the former Yugoslav republic opened membership talks with the EU in 2005, hoping to join in 2009.

Source: Xinhua