Ivan Šubašić | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 1 June 1944 – 17 October 1945 | |
| Monarch | Peter II |
| President | Josip Broz Tito |
| Prime Minister | Josip Broz Tito |
| Preceded by | Božidar Purić |
| Succeeded by | Josip Smodlaka |
| 18th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia | |
| In office 8 July 1944 – 2 November 1944 | |
| Monarch | Peter II |
| Preceded by | Božidar Purić |
| Succeeded by | Josip Broz Tito |
| Ban of the Croatian Banovina | |
| In office 24 August 1939 – 1941 | |
| Deputy | Ivo Krbek |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1892-05-07)7 May 1892 |
| Died | 22 March 1955(1955-03-22) (aged 62) |
| Nationality | Yugoslav |
| Political party | Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) |
| Awards | Order of the White Eagle |
Ivan Šubašić (7 May 1892 – 22 March 1955) was aCroat politician, best known as the lastBan of Croatia andPrime Minister of the royalist Yugoslav Government in exile during theSecond World War.[1][2]
Ivan Šubašić was born in Vukova Gorica, a village along the Karlovac-Rijeka highway in Karlovac district, Croatia. He completed the first grades of elementary school in the neighboring Prilišće and his secondary education in Zagreb. His studies at the Faculty of Theology (the University of Zagreb) were cut short, as he was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army. Captured on the Eastern Front, he subsequently joined the Yugoslav volunteers fighting at the Salonica.
Once the war was over, Šubašić obtained his law degree at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb and opened his first law office in Vrbovsko, close to his birth place. After meeting Vladko Maček, he joined the Croatian Peasant Party and was elected to the Yugoslav National Assembly in 1938.
In August 1939, Maček and Yugoslav Prime MinisterDragiša Cvetković reached the deal about the constitutional reconstruction of Yugoslavia and restoration of Croatian statehood in the form ofBanovina of Croatia—an autonomous entity which, together with Croatia proper, included large sections of today'sBosnia and Herzegovina and some sections of today'sVojvodina, which contained an ethnic Croat majority. Šubašić was appointed as the firstban, or titular head of this entity, in charge of its government.
The Banovina came to an end together with Kingdom of Yugoslavia, following theinvasion by Axis powers in April 1941. Šubašić joined the Yugoslav government-in-exile.
In emigration, Šubašić first represented the Yugoslav royal government in theUnited States. AsNDH atrocities became public knowledge, he actively spoke on behalf of the Croatian people, asKonstantin Fotić, then a Yugoslav ambassador to the US used his position to portray the entire nation as murderous fascists. Gradually, the widening gap between the royalist government and Yugoslav major resistance movement embodied inJosip Broz Tito and his Communist-dominatedPartisans forcedWinston Churchill to mediate. Šubašić, a non-Communist Croat and a voice of reason was appointed as the newprime minister[3] in order to reach a compromise between Tito—whose forces represented the de facto government on liberated territories—and the monarchy, which preferredDraža Mihailović and his Serb-dominatedChetniks.
Šubašić met with Tito on the island ofVis and negotiated theTito–Šubašić agreement, which recognized the Partisans as the legitimate armed forces of Yugoslavia. In exchange, the Partisans formally recognized the new Royal government. Šubašić kept his post until 2 November 1944, when Tito formally became the new prime minister of Yugoslavia. Šubašić served as aforeign minister in his cabinet until October 1945.
Šubašić spent the remainder of his life away from the spotlight. He was closely followed by UDBA agents at all times. He died in Zagreb in 1955. More than 10,000 people attended his funeral.[4] He is buried at theMirogoj Cemetery.[5]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title | Ban of Croatia 1939-1943 | Succeeded byasChairman of the ZAVNOH |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Yugoslavia Minister of Foreign Affairs 1944-1945 | Succeeded by |
