The Socialist Republic of Croatia, one of the constituent countries of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had gone through a number of phases in its political life, during which its major political characteristics changed - its name, its top level leadership and ultimately its political organization.
During this time the main officers of state were the head of state, which was often a nominal role only, the head of government, and the head of the ruling political party, the Croatian Communist Party, a branch of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, both of which had also changed names during this period.
The heads of government used the title President of the Executive Council, all from the ranks of the Communist Party, which was reformed and renamed into the League of Communists in 1952, both at the federal and at the republic level.
The heads of the communist party held the title of the Secretary of the League of Communists of Croatia, later President thereof, and together with the President of the Executive Council, this remained the central post of Croatian politics at the time, in spite of the institution of a collective Presidency in 1974. The mostly-nominal function of the head of state had at times belonged to the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, the Sabor.
The initial incarnation of the political organization of Croatia came about during World War II in Yugoslavia. The Independent State of Croatia (NDH), installed by the Axis powers after the invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941 was not recognized by the entirety of the Croatian public, notably the Communist Party of Croatia and parts of the Croatian Peasant Party during World War II, which would engage in the armed resistance against this fascist puppet state. By 1943, they had taken control of a significant portion of Croatian territory and were able to engage in more conventional political organization.
Andrija Hebrang was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Croatia between 1942 and October 1944. Vladimir Bakarić was the General Secretary after 1944, and the President of Government since 14 April 1945, a position equated to modern-day prime minister.
People's Republic of Croatia (1946–1963)
After WWII, Nazor served as head of state as the first President of the Presidency of the Parliament, between 26 February 1946 and 19 June 1949 (he died in office). This position would exist until 1953, and other people who were named the President of the Presidency of the Parliament of the People's Republic of Croatia were:
Bakarić remained the head of government, including after the office was renamed to President of the Executive Council (Predsjednik Izvršnog vijeća), and he was the President of the 1st Executive Council of the People's Republic of Croatia between 1952 and 18 December 1953, and he remained the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Croatia throughout the period, including the rename of the party to the League of Communists of Croatia in 1952.
Zlatan Sremec (1898–1971), served as Speaker since 1946, but in this merged capacity from 6 February 1953 to December 1953
Vladimir Bakarić
Vladimir Bakarić (1912–1983), served as Speaker between December 1953 and December 1963. Bakarić had the longest term to date as Croatian head of state.
Zvonko Brkić (1912–1977) was the President of the 4th Executive Council between 10 July 1962 and 27 June 1963.
Socialist Republic of Croatia (1963–1990)
Following the constitutional changes of 1963, the country was renamed, but the Speaker of the Parliament remained the highest officeholder until 1974. The Speakers during this time were likewise all members of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia:
Ivan Krajačić (1906–1986), served between December 1963 and June 1967
Jakov Blažević
Jakov Blažević (1912–1996), served between June 1967 and April 1974
Ivo Perišin (1925–2008), served between April 1974 and 8 May 1974
At that point, role of the Speaker of the Parliament was made distinct from the role of the President of the Presidency. Perišin continued on as Speaker until 1978, and he also at one time held the positions of head of government, as well as Mayor of Split.
Vladimir Bakarić remained the General Secretary of the League of Communists of Croatia until 1969.
Mika Špiljak (1916–2007) was the President of the 5th Executive Council between 27 June 1963 and 11 May 1967.
Savka Dabčević-Kučar (1923–2009) was the President of the 6th Executive Council between 11 May 1967 and 8 May 1969.
Dabčević-Kučar became the General Secretary of the League of Communists of Croatia in 1969, a position in which she remained until 1971 and the events of the Croatian Spring.
Dragutin Haramija (1923–2012) was the President of the 7th Executive Council between 8 May 1969 and 28 December 1971.
Ivo Perišin (1925–2008) was the President of the 8th Executive Council between 28 December 1971 and 8 May 1974.
The office of the President of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Predsjedništvo Socijalističke Republike Hrvatske) was the republic-level equivalent to the Yugoslav collective presidency at the federal level since amendments to the constitution in 1971.[1][2] On 21 February 1974 a new federal Constitution was adopted which reaffirmed the collective federal presidency chaired by the President of the Presidency.[3] The constituent republics adopted the same system in new constitutions of their own, with SR Croatia adopting theirs the following day on 22 February.[4][5] A nine-member presidency was established, which included the President of the Presidency, elected by the Parliament to a four-year term. Members could not be elected for more than two consecutive terms.[4]
The constitution originally allowed for the president of the presidency to serve a maximum of two terms of four years.[5] Jakov Blažević served as president of the presidency for the maximum two terms, before constitutional reforms in 1981 changed how the presidency functioned.
Jakov Sirotković[sh] (1922–2002) was the President of the 9th Executive Council between 8 May 1974 and 9 May 1978.
Petar Fleković[sr] (1932–) was the President of the 10th Executive Council between 9 May 1978 and 10 May 1982.
The death of federal president-for-life Josip Broz Tito in 1980 brought into force constitutional articles which made the federal presidency have a rotating president,[3] which was followed with constitutional amendments in 1981 which introduced the rotating practice into other offices, including the speaker and deputy speaker of the Federal Assembly and their equivalents in the two component chambers.[6][7] SR Croatia introduced similar amendments into its own constitution in 1981 through which the members of the presidency would continue to be elected to four-year terms, but would rotate as presidents on an annual basis.[8]
Between 1982 and 1986, the following people were Presidents: Marijan Cvetković (1982-1983), Milutin Baltić (1983-1984), Jakša Petrić (1984-1985), Pero Car (1985; died in office), Ema Derossi-Bjelajac (1985-1986), the latter being the first female head of state of Croatia.
The members at the time included: Mirko Božić, Marijan Cvetković (1983-1986), Tode Ćuruvija, Ema Derossi-Bjelajac (1982-1985), Jakša Petrić (1982-1984, 1985-1986), Dragutin Plašć, Milutin Baltić (1982-1983, 1984-1984), Pero Car (1982-1985)
The members ex officio as president of the League of Communists of Croatia included Jure Bilić (1982-1983), Josip Vrhovec (1983-1984), Mika Špiljak (1984-1986).
Ante Marković (1924–2011) was the President of the 11th Executive Council between 10 May 1982 and 10 May 1986.
In 1986 additional constitutional amendments were enacted which increased the length served as President of the Presidency to two years.[9]
Between 1986 and 1990, the following people were Presidents: Ante Marković (1986-1988), who would later serve as the last Prime Minister of Yugoslavia; and Ivo Latin (1988-1990).
After the first multi-party elections in 1990, constitutional amendments were put in place which renamed the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Croatia to Presidency of the Republic of Croatia and reduced the total number of members to seven.
After the first multi-party elections, the President of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Croatia was Stjepan Mesić who served between 30 May 1990 and 25 July 1990, so the Cabinet of Stjepan Mesić started as the 14th Executive Council.
The constitutional reforms in 1990 also renamed the office of the head of government to President of the Government.
The politics of Croatia are defined by a parliamentary, representative democratic republic framework, where the Prime Minister of Croatia is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Government and the President of Croatia. Legislative power is vested in the Croatian Parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The parliament adopted the current Constitution of Croatia on 22 December 1990 and decided to declare independence from Yugoslavia on 25 May 1991. The Constitutional Decision on the Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Croatia came into effect on 8 October 1991. The constitution has since been amended several times. The first modern parties in the country developed in the middle of the 19th century, and their agenda and appeal changed, reflecting major social changes, such as the breakup of Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, dictatorship and social upheavals in the kingdom, World War II, the establishment of Communist rule and the breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia.
The Croatian Spring, or Maspok, was a political conflict that took place from 1967 to 1971 in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, at the time part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As one of six republics comprising Yugoslavia at the time, Croatia was ruled by the League of Communists of Croatia (SKH), nominally independent from the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ), led by President Josip Broz Tito. The 1960s in Yugoslavia were marked by a series of reforms aimed at improving the economic situation in the country and increasingly politicised efforts by the leadership of the republics to protect the economic interests of their respective republics. As part of this, political conflict occurred in Croatia when reformers within the SKH, generally aligned with the Croatian cultural society Matica hrvatska, came into conflict with conservatives.
The president of Croatia, officially the president of the Republic of Croatia, is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the country and abroad. The president is the holder of the highest office in Croatia. However, the president is not the head of the executive branch as Croatia has a parliamentary system in which the holder of the post of prime minister is the most powerful person within the country's constitutional framework and everyday politics.
The prime minister of Croatia, officially the president of the government of the Republic of Croatia, is Croatia's head of government, and is de facto the most powerful and influential state officeholder in the Croatian system of government. Following the first-time establishment of the office in 1945, the 1990–2000 semi-presidential period is the only exception where the president of Croatia held de facto executive authority. In the formal Croatian order of precedence, however, the position of prime minister is the third highest state office, after the president of the Republic and the speaker of the Parliament.
League of Communists of Croatia was the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ). It came into power in 1945. Until 1952, it was known as Communist Party of Croatia. In the early 1990s, it underwent several renames and lost power.
The Croatian Parliament or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor is composed of 151 members elected to a four-year term on the basis of direct, universal and equal suffrage by secret ballot. Seats are allocated according to the Croatian Parliament electoral districts: 140 members of the parliament are elected in multi-seat constituencies. An additional three seats are reserved for the diaspora and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while national minorities have eight places reserved in parliament. The Sabor is presided over by a Speaker, who is assisted by at least one deputy speaker.
The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia is promulgated by the Croatian Parliament.
The president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the head of state of that country from 14 January 1953 to 4 May 1980. Josip Broz Tito was the only person to occupy the office. Tito was also concurrently President of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. Tito was eventually declared president for life and with his death in 1980 the office was discontinued and the new office of President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia took its place.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Socialist Republic of Croatia between 22 and 23 April 1990; the second round of voting occurred on 6–7 May. These were the first free, multi-party elections held in Croatia since 1938, and the first such elections for the Croatian Parliament since 1913. Voters elected candidates for 356 seats in the tri-cameral parliament; the turnout in the first round ranged between 76.56% and 84.54% for various parliamentary chambers. In the second round, the turnout was 74.82%. The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won 205 seats, ousted the League of Communists of Croatia – Party of Democratic Reform (SKH-SDP) from power and ended 45 years of communist rule in Croatia. The new parliament convened for the first time on 30 May, elected Franjo Tuđman as President of the Croatian Presidency and soon after renamed the office to President of Croatia.
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.
Stipe Šuvar was a Croatian politician and sociologist who was regarded to have been one of the most influential communist politicians in the League of Communists of Croatia (SKH) in SR Croatia in the 1980s during Yugoslavia.
The President of the Federal Executive Council was the head of government of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, from the adoption of the 1963 constitution until the complete breakup of the country in 1992. Most non-Yugoslav sources referred to the post as "Prime Minister."
The office of the president of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia existed from the death of the President of the Republic Josip Broz Tito on 4 May 1980 until the dissolution of the country by 1992.
Josip Vrhovec was a Croatian communist politician, best known for serving as Yugoslav Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1978 and 1982 and the Chairman of the League of Communists of Croatia from 1982 to 1984.
The 1974 Yugoslav Constitution was the fourth and final constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It came into effect on 21 February 1974.
The office of vice president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia existed from April 1963 to June 1967. It was established by the new Yugoslav Constitution adopted on 7 April 1963. The first to serve in the role was Aleksandar Ranković who assumed office on 30 June 1963. Due to an affair involving wire-tapping of Yugoslav president and general secretary of the League of Communists Josip Broz Tito, Ranković was forced to resign from the Central Committee and from the vice presidency on 1 July 1966. He was subsequently replaced by Koča Popović two weeks later who served out the remainder of Ranković's four-year term. On 26 April 1967 new amendments to the 1963 constitution were approved which disestablished the vice presidency once Ranković and Popović's combined four-year term was up. The office ceased to exist on 30 June 1967.
The 1st Executive Council of the People's Republic of Croatia was that state's executive organ of government in 1953.
The office of the vice president of the Presidency of the SFR Yugoslavia existed from the enactment of constitutional amendments establishing the position in 1971 until the dissolution of the country by 1992. A collective presidency existed in Yugoslavia since amendments to the constitution in 1971. The amendments established the roles of President and Vice President within the collective Presidency which would rotate between individual republics and provinces on an annual basis. However, it also defined a separate title of President of the Republic which could be conferred by the Federal Assembly into Josip Broz Tito who would automatically preside over the Presidency as well. Therefore, the launch of the Vice Presidency of the Presidency in 1971 would be the first to carry out a rotation system. Krste Crvenkovski of SR Macedonia was the first to hold the office. The subsequent order after SR Macedonia was SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Slovenia, SR Serbia, SR Croatia, SR Montenegro, SAP Vojvodina, and SAP Kosovo. In 1974 a new Constitution was adopted which reaffirmed the collective federal presidency consisting of representatives of the six republics, the two autonomous provinces within Serbia and the President of the League of Communists.
The office of the president of the presidency of the Socialist Republic of Serbia existed from its establishment in the 1974 constitution to its renaming and then total abolishment as part of democratic reforms in 1990.
References
↑ "Službeni list Socijalističke Federativne Republike Jugoslavije". Vol.XXVII, no.29. Belgrade. 8 July 1971.
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