Josip Vrhovec | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Vrhovec in 1980 | |
| 3rdMember of the Presidency of Yugoslavia for SR Croatia | |
| In office 15 May 1984 – 15 May 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Mika Špiljak |
| Succeeded by | Stipe Šuvar |
| President of theLeague of Communists of Croatia | |
| In office 1 July 1983 – 15 May 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Jure Bilić |
| Succeeded by | Mika Špiljak |
| Federal Secretary of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 17 May 1978 – 17 May 1982 | |
| Prime Minister | Veselin Đuranović |
| Preceded by | Miloš Minić |
| Succeeded by | Lazar Mojsov |
| Secretary of the Executive Committee of theLeague of Communists of Croatia | |
| In office 14 December 1971 – 9 April 1974 | |
| President | Milka Planinc |
| Preceded by | Pero Pirker |
| Succeeded by | Dušan Dragosavac |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1926-02-09)9 February 1926 Zagreb,Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes |
| Died | 14 February 2006(2006-02-14) (aged 80) Zagreb, Croatia |
| Political party | League of Communists of Yugoslavia |
| Alma mater | University of Zagreb |
Josip Vrhovec (9 February 1926 – 14 February 2006) was a Yugoslav and Croatian communist official, best known for serving asYugoslav Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1978 and 1982, and the Chairman of theLeague of Communists of Croatia (SKH) from 1982 to 1984.
Born inZagreb on 9 February 1926, Vrhovec first became politically engaged duringWorld War II, during which he became a member of theCommunist Party of Yugoslavia and theYugoslav Partisans (1941–1945).[1] After the war, Vrhovec enrolled at theUniversity of Zagreb and graduated from the Faculty of Economics.
Upon graduation, Vrhovec started working at the Zagreb-based dailyVjesnik, where he soon became editor of the newspaper's Wednesday edition (Croatian:Vjesnik u srijedu), which was at the time the company's most popular edition (he had two stints in the position, 1956–1957 and 1959–1963). He also spent several years working asVjesnik's correspondent from theUnited Kingdom (1957–1959) and theUnited States (1963–1967). Upon returning to Zagreb in 1968 he was appointed editor-in--chief atVjesnik, a position he held until 1970 when he was replaced by Milovan Baletić.
In the late 1960s Vrhovec became more seriously involved in politics and quickly rose to high-ranking positions in the Party following the downfall of theCroatian Spring movement in the early 1970s, as aprotégé ofVladimir Bakarić's faction within the League of Communists of Croatia (SKH).[2]
Between 1972 and 1974 he was a member of the SKH Central Committee, and from 1974 to 1978 served as member of the Central Committee of theLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ).[2] During his time at the Central Committee of SKH he reportedly submitted a proposal to then-leader of SKHMilka Planinc to arrest and charge prominent members of the Croatian Spring movement, includingFranjo Tuđman,Marko Veselica,Dražen Budiša,Šime Đodan,Vlado Gotovac, and Hrvoje Šošić.[citation needed]
His next office was the highest point of his political career, as he served asYugoslav Minister of Foreign Affairs from May 1978 to May 1982, under Prime MinisterVeselin Đuranović, and during the last two years ofJosip Broz Tito's reign before Tito's death in 1980.[2] As minister of foreign affairs, Vrhovec spent the first two years of his term accompanying Tito during his travels abroad.
Following Tito's death, Vrhovec was in charge of shaping Yugoslavia's foreign policy, in which he promoted the idea of improving relations withthe West and opening up the country to foreign investments. He reportedly talked withRonald Reagan several times in the early 1980s about the possibility of introducingmulti-party democracy andmarket economy reforms in Yugoslavia.[2] Despite this, the economic reform commission chaired by Vrhovec from 1985 to 1986 made little mention of democratization.[3]
After serving a full four-year term, Vrhovec was appointed to the post of chairman of SKH, and from May 1984 to May 1989 he representedSR Croatia in the nine-memberPresidency of Yugoslavia, a collective body functioning as the head of state. In the latter half of the 1980s Vrhovec was one of the first Yugoslav politicians openly opposingSlobodan Milošević's nationalist policies, at the time when Milošević's rise to power in Serbia began.
Vrhovec is also credited as one of the key people involved in the organisation of the1987 Summer Universiade, the biggest sporting event ever hosted in the city of Zagreb.[2]
After his term in the Yugoslav presidency ended in 1989, Vrhovec effectively retired from politics.[1] Vrhovec died at theSisters of Charity Hospital in Zagreb on 15 February 2006 and was buried atMirogoj Cemetery in Zagreb six days later.[4]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Yugoslav Minister for Foreign Affairs 1978–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia 1983–1984 | Succeeded by |
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