The paper analyzes the human resources management (hereinafter: HRM) in the Croatian state administration. The importance of this discipline and its significance and role were emphasized. There is an inevitable need to invest in human resources, that is, in their professional training and development in order to retain quality and motivated experts in a certain organization. The categories of people who work in public administration and the way of their development throughout history are described. Human resources management in public administration has its own importance and goals, and considering the diversity of jobs, we can define this term in a narrower and broader way. Different models of the application of HRD depend on the basic concept of public administration that is represented in a country. The methods and instruments of HRD and the importance of the merit system and professionalization are described. Furthermore, the Croatian state administration and its connection with the concept of HRD were analyzed, and a concrete example is the Ministry of Defense, which has shown great interest and desire for the most successful development and lifelong learning of its own staff.