Josip Manolić | |
|---|---|
 Manolić in 2011 | |
| Speaker of the Chamber of Counties of Croatia | |
| In office 22 March 1993 – 23 May 1994 | |
| President | Franjo Tuđman |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Katica Ivanišević |
| Office for the Protection of the Constitutional Order | |
| In office 27 May 1991 – 21 March 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Prime Minister of Croatia | |
| In office 24 August 1990 – 17 July 1991 WithinYugoslavia: 24 August 1990 – 25 June 1991 | |
| President | Franjo Tuđman |
| Preceded by | Stjepan Mesić |
| Succeeded by | Franjo Gregurić |
| Vice-President of the Presidency of the Republic of Croatia | |
| In office 25 July 1990 – 24 August 1990 | |
| President | Franjo Tuđman |
| Prime Minister | Stjepan Mesić |
| Preceded by | Himself (asVice-President of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Croatia) |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Vice-President of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Croatia | |
| In office 30 May 1990 – 25 July 1990 | |
| President | Franjo Tuđman |
| Prime Minister | Stjepan Mesić (asPresident of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Croatia) |
| Preceded by | Position vacant Ante Marković |
| Succeeded by | Himself (asVice-President of the Presidency of the Republic of Croatia) |
| President of theCroatian Independent Democrats | |
| In office 30 April 1994 – 26 October 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Zlatko Canjuga |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1920-03-22)22 March 1920 |
| Died | 15 April 2024(2024-04-15) (aged 104) |
| Other political affiliations |
|
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Zagreb Faculty of Law |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Yugoslavia |
| Branch/service | Yugoslav Partisans (1941–1945) OZNA (1944–1965) |
| Unit | OZNA 2 |
| Commands | OZNA 2 inBjelovarDepartment for Execution of Criminal Sentences |
| Battles/wars | World War II in Yugoslavia |
Josip "Joža"Manolić (pronounced[jǒsipmǎnolit͡ɕ]; 22 March 1920 – 15 April 2024) was a Croatian politician andcommunist revolutionary duringWorld War II in Yugoslavia. He served as a high-ranking official of theYugoslavState Security Administration (OZNA or UDBA) and later asPrime Minister of Croatia, from 24 August 1990 to 17 July 1991.[1][2] He was the last prime minister of Croatia as aconstituent republic ofYugoslavia, as the country formallydeclared its independence during his term, on 25 June 1991. Following his brief term as prime minister, Manolić served as the firstSpeaker of the Chamber of Counties, the thenupper house of theCroatian Parliament, from 1993 until 1994.
Manolić was born on 22 March 1920[3][4] inKalinovac nearĐurđevac to a well-to-do working-class family as the youngest of four children. When he was eight, his family moved to Orlovac nearNova Rača. He graduated from the secondary Craft School inBjelovar, where he studied to be a shoemaker.[5]
When he was 18, he joined theLeague of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ). He was vice president of the Association of Workers' Unions (URS) for the tanning industry. He was accepted into theCommunist Party of Croatia when he was 19. In 1940 he was appointed Secretary of the Municipal Committee of SKOJ forNova Gradiška and was named a member of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party.[6]
After the outbreak of theWorld War II in Yugoslavia, Manolić was involved in illegal party activity in Nova Gradiška. He was arrested by theUstaše authorities in May 1941, along with twelve members of the Communist Party and SKOJ, for multiplying and sharing the Communist Party leaflets. At first, he was imprisoned in Nova Gradiška, but was later transferred toSlavonska Požega. Two of the party members were sentenced to death, but were later pardoned and their sentences were reduced to two and three years in prison, respectively. The rest were released.[6]
After his release, Manolić went toZagreb, where he agitated for theYugoslav Partisans. He remained in Zagreb until October 1942, when he moved to the territory under the partisan control. As a party agitator, he traveled across Croatia. With dismissal ofAndrija Hebrang in 1944, the whole leadership of SKOJ was dismissed as well, including Manolić, who was Organisational Secretary. After his dismissal, the Party sent him toBjelovar.[6]
In March 1944, Manolić became Member of the Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of Croatia for Bjelovar, and was later named Organisational Secretary. In October 1944, he was named Director ofOZNA 2 in Bjelovar, the communist police founded in May 1944. OZNA 2's jurisdiction were internal affairs, while OZNA 1's jurisdiction was external security and OZNA 3 served within the military.[6]
Under pressure from theArmed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia, the Yugoslav Partisans left Bjelovar, and returned again on 5 May 1945. His duty, from that point on, was, as Manolić said, to "clear the terrain from the remaining Ustaše and adversary occupational forces". His jurisdiction was Municipality of Bjelovar, which then includedKoprivnica,Križevci,Đurđevac,Vrbovec,Čazma andIvanić-Grad.[6]
After the war, in spring of 1946, Manolić was dismissed as Chief of OZNA 2 forBjelovar, and in autumn of the same year, he was sent to be educated at the Military-Political School inBelgrade. The school was organised according to the Soviet model, and was part of the educational system of theYugoslav People's Army.[7]
At the end of 1947, Manolić returned toZagreb, and was named the Chief of the Department for Staff of theState Security Administration ofPR Croatia. On 1 August 1948, Manolić was named the Chief of Department for Execution of Criminal Sentences of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs in Zagreb.[7] During that time, he participated in imprisonment of Archbishop of ZagrebAloysius Stepinac.[8] In 1948 he became a chief for prisons for political prisoners and remained in this office until 1963.[6]
In 1960, Manolić gained a law degree from theFaculty of Law, University of Zagreb.[8] In 1965 he was elected to theParliament of the Socialist Republic of Croatia.[8] As a Member of Parliament, Manolić was Member of the Constitutional Commission, President of the Legislative-Legal Commission and President of the Organisational-Political Committee. He was reelected as an MP in 1965. In the aftermath of theCroatian Spring in 1972, Manolić was relieved of all duties and sent into retirement.[6]
Manolić was one of the founders of theCroatian Democratic Union (HDZ),[9] participating at its founding assembly inJarun,Zagreb. Manolić was one of closest associates ofFranjo Tuđman, the firstPresident of Croatia since the introduction ofmulti-party elections. Soon, he was namedVice President of the Presidency of the SR Croatia. Between 24 August 1990 and 17 July 1991, he wasPrime Minister of Croatia, having succeededStjepan Mesić in the post. HisChief of Staff wasTomislav Karamarko, the future chairman of the HDZ andDeputy Prime Minister underTihomir Orešković. On 25 June 1991, theCroatian Parliament voted for Croatia to secede fromSFR Yugoslavia and declared it an independent country. Manolić was succeeded byFranjo Gregurić in July 1991.[6]
When Manolić left the office on 17 July 1991 Croatian forces — police and nascent military — were involved in full-scale war with Krajina rebels, who were backed by the Yugoslav federal army.[citation needed] He took another, even more important post as the head of Constitutional Order Protection Office (Ured za zaštitu ustavnog poretka),[6] a body that would coordinate and supervise all Croatian security services. There he built Tuđman's security apparatus, relying mostly on the old cadre from UDBA and other sections of the Communist-era security apparatus.[10] Despite the nature of his work, he remained very much in the public spotlight.[citation needed] In his interviews and statements he gradually gained a reputation of being a moderate. His enormous power, moderate views and Partisan past made him very unpopular among the rank and file of the HDZ party and brought him into conflict withGojko Šušak, the powerfulMinister of Defence, who led a hard-line nationalist faction.[citation needed]
In 1993 he was a member of the Presidential Defence and National Security Council. From March 1993 to April 1994 he was the President of the Upper Chamber of Parliament and a member of the Security Council.[11]
In 1993 Manolić was replaced from his post and elected asSpeaker of the Chamber of Counties of Croatia (to 1994). Many saw this as his demotion and fall from Tuđman's favor.[citation needed] In 1994, Manolić and Mesić tried to organise a mass defection of HDZ members ofSabor and thus deprive Franjo Tuđman of parliamentary majority. They failed and later, together with other HDZ dissidents, created a new party calledCroatian Independent Democrats (HND), of which Manolić was the president in 1995.[6]
Manolić's attempt to take power on national level failed, but his supporters in theZagreb County Assembly succeeded in replacing HDZ administration. This led Tuđman to introduce new legislation, merging Zagreb County and the City ofZagreb and calling for new elections, which ultimately resulted in theZagreb Crisis. Those elections coincided with the 1995 parliamentary elections, during which HND fared badly, failing to enter Sabor. Thereafter, Manolić was retired from active politics.[6] His autobiography,Politika i domovina – Moja borba za suverenu i socijalnu Hrvatsku (Politics and homeland - My fight for a sovereign and social Croatia), was published in 2015.[12]
In 1945, Manolić married his first wife, Marija Eker (1921 – 15 April 2003), who died in a house fire, aged 82.[13] On 30 April 2016, aged 96, Manolić married his second wife, Mirjana Ribarić (5 March 1956 – 18 August 2020),[14] 35 years his junior, however she later died oflung cancer, aged 64.[15] He had three children.[16]
Manolić's advanced age earned him notability both on social media and in the press. Namely, he was found to be one of the oldest holders of a valid driver's license in Croatia[17] and also became allegedly the first Croat to have undergone asequencing of his genome.[18]
Manolićturned 100 on 22 March 2020.[19]
In April 2021, Manolić contractedCOVID-19. Despite initially showing signs of mildpneumonia, he was not hospitalized and he ultimately made a recovery within a little over two weeks.[20][21]
Manolić died on 15 April 2024, aged 104.[22][23]
| Award or decoration | |
|---|---|
 | Grand Order of Queen Jelena[24] |
Media related toJosip Manolić at Wikimedia CommonsPreceded byPresidents of the Executive Council of SR Croatia(1945–1990) | |
| Following the first multi-party elections (1990–1991) | .svg) |
| Since independence (1991–) | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
