The president was the leader of the League of Communists of Croatia (LCC), the ruling party of the Socialist Republic of Croatia (SRC) in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Party rules stipulated that the LCC Central Committee elected the president. Moreover, the Central Committee was empowered to remove the president. The president served ex officio as a member of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) and of the SRC Presidency. To be eligible to serve, the president had to be a member of the Presidency of the LCC Central Committee. The 9th LCC Congress instituted a two-year term limits for officeholders.

The Socialist Republic of Croatia, commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. By its constitution, modern-day Croatia is its direct continuation.