Jože Pučnik

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Jože Pučnik
Pučnik in the late 1990s
Leader of the Social Democratic Party
In office
1989 – May 1993
Preceded byFrance Tomšič
Succeeded byJanez Janša
Personal details
Born(1932-03-09)9 March 1932
Črešnjevec, Yugoslavia
Died11 January 2003(2003-01-11) (aged 70)
Germany
Political partySocial Democratic Party
Other political
affiliations		DEMOS

Jože Pučnik (9 March 1932 – 11 January 2003) was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, he was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and lack of civil liberties in SFR Yugoslavia.

Pučnik was imprisoned for a total of seven years, and later forced into exile. After returning to Slovenia in the late 1980s, he became the leader of the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia, a platform of democratic parties that defeated the communists in the first free elections in 1990 and introduced a democratic system and market economy to Slovenia. Pučnik is also considered one of the fathers of Slovenian independence from Yugoslavia.[1][2][3]

Early life and formation

Pučnik was born in the village of

Liberation Front of the Slovenian People during World War II: his older brother Ivan was an anti-Nazi resistance fighter in the Yugoslav Partisan
movement.

Already as a teenager, Pučnik clashed with the

communist establishment. Because of some critical thoughts published in the high school paper Iskanja (Quests) he was prohibited from taking his final exam.[4] Since he couldn't enroll in the University, he was drafted in the Yugoslav People's Army. After completing the military service, he took the final exam, passed it and enrolled at the University of Ljubljana, where he studied philosophy and comparative literature
, graduating in 1958.

While living in

communist regime
.

The dissident years

In 1958, Pučnik was arrested accused of "subversion of the socialist system" and sentenced to 9 years in jail. At the trial, which lasted only a couple of hours, he was accused of having instigated workers to strike. Some have suggested that Pučnik's imprisonment was a deliberate attempt by the regime to silence dissident intellectuals.[5] He was released in 1963 and immediately continued writing for the alternative journal Perspektive. At this point he was already publicly stating his disapproval of the regime.[4] In 1964, his article Problemi našega kmetijstva (The Problems of Our Agriculture) was published in the journal Perspektive. In it, Pučnik criticized the agricultural policy of the regime, arguing that it was inefficient using publicly available official data. He was arrested again, sentenced to another two years in prison and expelled from the Communist Party.

During his time in prison, Pučnik became an idol for his generation.[4][6] The playwright Dominik Smole dedicated the play Antigone to him and Primož Kozak portrayed him in the leading role of his play Afera (The Scandal). Both plays were metaphors for the totalitarian repression in communist Yugoslavia.[6]

Exile and academic career

Pučnik was released from jail in 1966. After several unsuccessful attempts to find a job, he decided to emigrate to

chancellor of Germany, whom he took as his main role model for his subsequent political activity.[8]

In the academic sphere, he became influenced by the theories of

Alfred Schutz and the Slovene-born Thomas Luckmann.[9]

During his years of exile, he kept up a correspondence with several important critical intellectuals in Slovenia, especially Ivo Urbančič.

Return to Slovenia

In the 1980s, Pučnik could again publish articles in Slovenia, this time in the alternative journal

Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
of 1986, and set the grounds for a political opposition to the communist regime. It was also the first legally published publication openly advocating Slovenia's independence from Yugoslavia. Pučnik's article was centred on issues of democratization and political plurality, and openly stressed the need for Slovenia's full sovereignty in order to secure such development.

He returned to Slovenia in 1989 at the invitation of the newly formed opposition

Communist Party of Slovenia. He was nevertheless elected to the Slovenian Parliament
and remained the official leader of the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia, and the coalition's parliamentary leader.

Between 1990 and 1992, he was among those who led

Yugoslavia. In 1992, after the fall of Lojze Peterle's coalition government, Pučnik decided to lead his party into a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party and briefly served as vice-president in the first government of Janez Drnovšek
.

In the elections of 1992, the

National Assembly of Slovenia. During this time, he led a parliamentary commission to clarify political responsibility for the summary executions perpetrated by the communist regime in Slovenia after World War II
.

After 1996, he retired from active politics, but remained honorary president of the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia and continued to voice his opinion on matters of public interest. He remained utterly critical of the policies of Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek and President Milan Kučan. He also criticized the political transition to democracy in general, especially the insufficient implementation of the rule of law, the widespread corruption and the maintenance of the power networks from the previous regime.

He died in Germany in 2003 and was buried in his home village of Črešnjevec. His funeral was attended by a huge crowd. The eulogy was delivered by philosopher and his lifelong friend Ivo Urbančič.

Legacy

Pučnik is considered to be one of the fathers of independent Slovenia.[10][11][12] Some, especially in the Slovenian right wing circles, have also called him "Father of Slovenian Democracy".[13]

In 2006, he was posthumously awarded the

Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, after him. The decision was criticized by some,[14] including the then President of Slovenia Janez Drnovšek who publicly expressed his respect for Pučnik, but disagreed with the renaming of the airport after him.[15] Author and journalist Spomenka Hribar, Pučnik's former colleague, stated that Pučnik would not have agreed with such renaming, because he was a modest person who disliked public praise and rejected any "cult of personality".[16] A similar statement was made by Pučnik's son Gorazd, who however did not oppose the renaming and was present at the renaming ceremony.[17]

The Slovenian

liberal conservative think tank Jože Pučnik Institute and the elementary school in his native Črešnjevec are also named after him.[18][19]

At the initiative of Milan Zver, the European Parliament announced on 11 June 2018 that a conference room will bear the name of Jože Pučnik.[20] The official inauguration took place on 28 June 2018 in Brussels, where

EPP Group in the European Parliament Manfred Weber, President of Slovenia Borut Pahor, President of Slovenian Democratic Party Janez Janša and initiator Milan Zver were among the honorary speakers. Family of Jože Pučnik was present at the inauguration as well.[21]

Personal life

Jože Pučnik room in European Parliament, Brussels.

Jože Pučnik was the brother of

Slovenian Peasant Union in 1989.[22]

Jože Pučnik was married twice. After his first release from jail in 1963, he met Irena Žerjal, a young Slovene author from Trieste, Italy, who studied Slavic philology in Ljubljana.[23] They married the same year, when Pučnik was already imprisoned again; Pučnik was not allowed to attend his own wedding, and his brother Ivan had to represent him at the ceremony instead.[24][unreliable source?] His first son was born in 1964. When Pučnik was released from prison in 1966, the family moved to Germany; in 1969, however, the wife decided to return to Trieste with the son, while Pučnik decided to stay in Germany.[25] He later married Christel Kunath. They had a daughter named Katharina. He also adopted his second wife's son, called Marcus.[25]

His son from his first marriage, Gorazd Pučnik, is the director of the Srečko Kosovel Boarding School in Trieste, Italy.[26] His stepson Marcus Pucnik is a journalist, based in Barcelona, Spain.[27]

Major works

  • Kultura, družba in tehnologija (Culture, Society and Technology, 1988).
  • K političnemu sistemu Republike Slovenije (Towards a Political System of the Republic of Slovenia, 1990).
  • Iz arhivov slovenske politične policije (From the Archives of the Slovenian Political Police, 1996).
  • Izbrano delo (Selected Works, edited by
    Ivan Urbančič, Janez Janša
    et al., 2003).

See also

References

  1. ^ Rosvita Pesek: Pučnik je bil motor slovenskega osamosvajanja Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, Pogvori drugisvet.com
  2. ^ Manske, Michael (3 December 2013). "Ljubljana Airport Is Named after Politician Pučnik". MMC RTV SLO. Retrieved 14 July 2021. seen as one of the fathers of independent Slovenia
  3. ^ Valič Zver, Andreja (2019). Jože Pučnik : oče slovenske države = Father of the Slovenian State. Ljubljana: Študijski center za narodno spravo.
  4. ^ a b c d Jože Pučnik (1932-2003) Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, Mladina.si ]
  5. ^ Interview with Taras Kermauner on the Slovenian National TV Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Odprti kop - Intervju: Dr. Taras Kermauner Archived 2008-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Inštitut Jožeta Pučnika => joze pucnik Archived 2008-03-16 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Taras Kermauner, Skupinski portret z Dušanom Pirjevcem. Ljubljana: Znanstveno in raziskovalno središče, 2002. P. 139
  9. ^ "CEEOL - Error". www.ceeol.com. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  10. ^ V čast domovini: Stati inu obstati, 6 January 2008
  11. ^ "Slovenske novice - kronika, vreme, horoskop, zdravje, čestitke in več". Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  12. ^ Posmrtno odlikovanje za Jožeta Pučnika Pučnikovega odlikovanja ni prevzel nihče Objavljeno, 22 June 2006
  13. ^ [1] Archived March 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Gorenjski glas". Gorenjskiglas.si. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  15. ^ "Miti in legende nove oblasti". Mladina.Si. 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  16. ^ Tekst: Miran Šubic. "Vlada samovoljno spremenila ime osrednjega letališča | Dnevnik". Moj.dnevnik.si. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  17. ^ "Novo ime in nov terminal". 24ur.com. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  18. ^ "Osnovna šola dr. Jožeta Pučnika Črešnjevec - mnenja -Filternet.si, uporabne informacije za učence, dijake in študente". Filternet.si. 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  19. ^ "The Joze Pucnik Institute". Archived from the original on 19 March 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  20. ^ Dr. Zver: Ponosen, da ena vidnejših dvoran v EP zdaj nosi ime po dr. Jožetu Pučniku: http://www.eppgroup.eu/press-release/Dvorana-v-EP-poimenovana-po-dr.-Jožetu-Pučniku[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Dr. Zver: Dr. Jože Pučnik sedaj domuje tudi v Evropskem parlamentu:http://www.eppgroup.eu/sl/press-release/Dr%3A-Zver%3A-Dr.-Jo%C5%BEe-Pu%C4%8Dnik-sedaj-domuje-tudi-v-EP Archived 2018-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Tekst: (sta). "Umrl je Ivan Pučnik, eden od ustanoviteljev SLS | Dnevnik". Dnevnik.si. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  23. ^ "Slovene Biographical Lexicon". Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  24. ^ "gorazdpučnik - tinomamic". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  25. ^ a b "Jože Pučnik – od političnega zapornika do očeta slovenske države | Slovenija - Planet Siol.net". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  26. ^ "Gorazd Pučnik". Mladina.Si. 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  27. ^ "Marcus Pucnik". Archived from the original on 4 August 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.

Sources

Further reading

  • Milan Zver (ed.), Pučnikova znanstvena in politična misel (The Scientific and Political Thought of Jože Pučnik, editor; Ljubljana, 2004).
  • Rosvita Pesek, "Pučnik", Celovec: Mohorjeva, 2013.

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by President of the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia
1990 – 1993 		Succeeded by
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