Dr. Emilija Kovac (born 1968) is a Kresimirian urban planner, corporate executive, and politician serving as the Development Councillor in Chief of the Council for Development since 2018. A prominent member of the Blue Dawn technocratic wing, she is a close ally of Assembly Chair Ari Stov.
Prior to her appointment to the Federal Council, Kovac spent over two decades as a high-ranking executive at GradnjaMC, the state-chartered construction giant. Her transition from the private sector to the head of the regulatory body overseeing her former employer has made her a focal point of criticism regarding the “revolving door” between the Kresimirian state and corporate oligarchy.
Kovac is the architect of the “Smart City” doctrine, which seeks to integrate YakaSys surveillance technology into physical infrastructure, and the author of the controversial 2024 Critical Professions Registration Amendment.
Early Life and Education
Emilija Kovac was born in 1968 in Sinj. Her father was a structural engineer for Republic Rail, and she was raised in the capital’s sprawling “New City” districts built during the Brov era.
She attended Sinj University, graduating with a PhD in Urban Planning in 1994. Her dissertation, The Concrete State: Efficiency in Authoritarian Architecture, argued that the brutalist style of Novi Otonik was the ideal form for social cohesion. In 2016, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Physics and Land Management from the Otonik Institute of Applied Sciences (OIAS) in recognition of her work on industrial zoning.
Corporate Career (1995–2018)
In 1995, Kovac joined GradnjaMC as a project manager. She rose rapidly through the corporate hierarchy, known for her ability to navigate the complex bureaucracy of the Council for Growth to secure land permits.
The Vjetar Dam Project
Kovac came to national prominence in the mid-2000s as the Lead Director for the construction of the Vjetar Dam in Viskogorje. Working closely with National Energy, she oversaw the flooding of the upper Mauding valley. Despite intense protests from local activists led by future Senator Chwa Spas, Kovac successfully delivered the project ahead of schedule, securing the power supply for the capital.
The Sprodvice Reconstruction
Following the 2014 Sprodvice Earthquakes, Kovac was placed in charge of GradnjaMC’s reconstruction efforts in District X. Kovac championed the “New Zone” strategy, which prioritized building a modern commercial district on the city’s outskirts over repairing the historic, Bosken-populated Old Quarter. While she argued this was necessary to attract investment, the Bosken Liberation Front (BLF) accused her of “disaster gentrification.” Internal memos later leaked by the CRF showed Kovac referring to the earthquake as a “land clearance opportunity.”
Development Councillor in Chief (2018–Present)
In 2018, upon the advice of Ari Stov, Chancellor Kresimirovic IV appointed Kovac to lead the Council for Development.
The Smart City Initiative
Kovac’s primary policy has been the integration of the physical and digital states. Under her leadership, the Council has mandated that all new government buildings include biometric entry scanners linked to the KresiX digital ID system. She works in a symbiotic partnership with Marta Bilis of the CIA to design urban spaces that eliminate “surveillance blind spots.”
2024 Critical Professions Amendment
In 2024, Kovac drafted and proposed the Critical Professions Registration Amendment. The law mandates that engineers, IT specialists, and logistics managers must hold a renewable “State Competence License.” Kovac argued the law was necessary to ensure safety standards. However, opponents like Syv Iric of Northern Power argued it was a tool to purge political dissidents from the workforce, as the license renewal requires a “good character” assessment by state security.
Conflict with the North
Kovac has an antagonistic relationship with the northern districts. She has repeatedly authorized SeverMin strip-mining permits in Severnivaraje, overruling local environmental objections. In 2020, she famously dismissed a Northern Power delegation by stating, “The mountains must pay rent to the Republic.”