Sandra Švaljek, PhD was born in Krapina on 23 February 1970. She graduated in 1992 from the Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb, where she also earned a master's degree in 1995 and a doctor's degree in fiscal policy in 2000. She worked at the Institute of Economics, Zagreb from 1992 to 2018, where she became a senior research fellow. Ms Svaljek has authored and co-authored a large number of scientific and expert papers and contributed to books on a variety of economic issues. She has been a participant and leader of numerous research projects, and has also taught at a number of undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
In the period between 2000 and 2013, Ms Švaljek was a member of the Croatian National Bank Council. In the period from 2005 to 2013, she was Director of the Institute of Economics, Zagreb and President of the Board of Trustees of the International Graduate Business School (IGBS), Zagreb.
Ms Švaljek was Deputy Mayor of the City of Zagreb in charge of economic development between June 2013 and March 2015 and Acting Mayor of the City of Zagreb from October 2014 to March 2015. In the period from 2015 to 2018, she was a representative at the City Assembly of the City of Zagreb.
Pursuant to the decision of the Croatian Parliament, Sandra Švaljek assumed office as Deputy Governor of the Croatian National Bank on 18 July 2018. On 19 July 2024, the Croatian Parliament reappointed her for her second six-year term of office.
Since 1 January 2023, Sandra Švaljek has been an alternate to member of the ECB’s Governing Council Boris Vujčić.
Deputy Governor coordinates the Internal Audit Office and coordinates and manages the Central Banking Operations Area, the Communications Area, the Office of the Governor, the Financial Risk Management Office and the Visitors' Centre.