Vladimir Bakarić (; 8 March 1912 – 16 January 1983) was a Yugoslav and Croatian communist revolutionary and a politician. He served as the President of the Executive Council of the People's Republic of Croatia from 1945 to 1953 and Speaker of the Croatian Parliament from 1953 to 1963. In addition, he was Secretary of the League of Communists of Croatia for 2 decades from 1948 to 1969, where he became a close collaborator with President Josip Broz Tito.
Early life
Bakarić was born on 8 March 1912 in Velika Gorica, which was then part of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in Austria-Hungary. His father was a local judge in Gospić. After finishing his elementary education in Gospić, he attended secondary school in Ogulin and Zagreb. He entered the University of Zagreb as a law student, where he quickly joined the Communist movement. In 1935, he was elected secretary of the party at the University of Zagreb, and graduated later that year. Upon graduating, he worked in the courts as a defense lawyer from 1936 to 1941 while studying for his doctorate in law. <!--needs ref:Even after stepping down from the top post in communist hierarchy in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, he retained much influence and was even considered to be the most influential politician in Croatia.-->
From 1964 to 1974, he was a member of the Council of the Federation, and since 1974 he has been a member of the Presidency of the SFRY, where he served as vice president from May 15, 1975, to May 15, 1976, and was re-elected to that position in May 1982. However, Bakarić was usually extremely careful in his public pronouncements on policy and wary of radical statements.
See also
- Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia