Minister Simonovic and I have agreed together that State Secretary Drazen Bosnjakovic should be the new minister of justice, Kosor told reporters at the Day of the Entrepreneur event in Zagreb.

Simonovic has been appointed UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights. He will be the first person to fill the new post, which was approved by the UN General Assembly in December 2009.

"The appointment of Minister Simonovic is credit to him personally, as well as to the government and Croatia as a whole, because the choice of our minister for such a responsible position in the UN, which is related to human rights, proves that Croatia has reached high standards in protecting and promoting human rights," the prime minister said.

Kosor expressed the hope that Simonovic would continue as justice minister until the opening of accession negotiations with the European Commission on Chapter 23, which deals with the judiciary and fundamental rights. She added that she believed that Croatia was "relatively close" to that moment.

President Ivo Josipovic said he also thought that the choice of Simonovic as UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights was a sign of recognition of Croatia.

"Simonovic has been one of our most successful diplomats. He's an excellent legal expert, so I'm not surprised by his appointment," Josipovic said.