Croatia (pronounced /kroʊˈeɪʃə/ ( listen), kroe-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska About this sound listen (help·info)), is a country in central and southeastern Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital (and largest city) is Zagreb. Croatia borders Slovenia and Hungary to the north, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, and Serbia and Montenegro to the east.
The Croats arrived in the early seventh century in what is Croatia today. They organized the state into two dukedoms. The first king, King Tomislav was crowned in AD 925 and Croatia was elevated into the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for almost two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Demetrius Zvonimir. Croatia entered a union with Hungary in 1102. In 1526, the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand from the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, Croatia declared independence from Austria–Hungary and co-founded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After World War II, Croatia became a founding member of the Second Yugoslavia. On 25 June 1991, Croatia declared independence and became a sovereign state.
Nina Moric was born in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, on July 22, 1976. She grew up in an upper-middle class household, and her parents, a doctor and an economist, encouraged her follow her dream of becoming a lawyer.
Nina recognized that although she had the brains to pursue the higher intellectual echelons, her body could put most women's to shame. So she entered a national pageant and was awarded the title of Miss Croatia. At that moment, she decided that she could very well be a world-famous model.