Ivo Sanader is a Croatian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009. He was a member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and played a significant role in the country's transition to a market economy and its efforts to join the European Union. In 2010, Sanader was arrested on corruption charges and later convicted, leading to a prison sentence. His political career has been marked by both achievements in governance and controversies related to corruption, reflecting the challenges faced by many post-communist countries in Eastern Europe.