Josip Vrhovec

Josip Vrhovec
Josip Vrhovec
	Member 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 the League 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 the League 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	9 February 1926; Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Died	14 February 2006 (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 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.

Biography

Born in

Communist Party of Yugoslavia and the Yugoslav Partisans (1941–1945).^[1] After the war, Vrhovec enrolled at the University of Zagreb

and graduated from the Faculty of Economics.

Upon graduation, Vrhovec started working at the Zagreb-based daily Vjesnik, 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 as Vjesnik's correspondent from the United Kingdom (1957–1959) and the United States (1963–1967). Upon returning to Zagreb in 1968 he was appointed chief editor at Vjesnik, 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 the

protégé of Vladimir 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 the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ).^[2] As a member of the Central Committee he submitted a proposal to Milka Planinc to arrest and charge members of the Croatian Spring, including Franjo Tuđman, Marko Veselica, Dražen Budiša, Šime Đodan, Vlado Gotovac, and Hrvoje Šošić.^[3]

His next office was the highest point of his political career as he served as

Yugoslav Minister of Foreign Affairs from May 1978 to May 1982 under Prime Minister Veselin Đuranović and during the last two years of Josip Broz Tito's reign before his 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 with the West and opening up the country to foreign investments. He reportedly talked with Ronald Reagan several times in the early 1980s about the possibility of introducing multi-party democracy and market economy reforms in Yugoslavia.^[2] Despite this, the economic reform commission chaired by Vrhovec from 1985 to 1986 made little mention of democratization.^[4]

After serving a full four-year term, Vrhovec was appointed to the post of chairman of the League of Communists of Croatia, and from May 1984 to May 1989 he represented

SR Croatia in the 9-member Presidency of Yugoslavia, a collective body functioning as head of state. In the latter half of the 1980s Vrhovec was one of the first Yugoslav politicians who were openly opposed to Slobodan Milošević's nationalist policies, at the time when Milošević's rise to power began. He was also one of the key people involved in the organisation of the 1987 Summer Universiade, the biggest sporting event hosted by Zagreb.^[2]

After his term ended, Vrhovec effectively retired from politics.[1] Vrhovec died at the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Zagreb on 15 February 2006 and was buried at Mirogoj Cemetery in Zagreb on 21 February 2006.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Krušelj, Željko (16 February 2006). "Umro Josip Vrhovec". Vjesnik (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 October 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
^
Europapress Holding. Archived from the original
on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2010.

^ "Umrla Milka Planinc, bivša premijerka Jugoslavije". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). 7 October 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
^ Crnobrnja, Mihailo (1996). "The Yugoslav Drama". McGill-Queen's Press. p. 87.
^ "Umrl Josip Vrhovec" [Josip Vrhovec dies] (in Slovenian). 24UR. 15 February 2006. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.

External links

Umro Josip Vrhovec, posljednji Titov ministar vanjskih poslova (in Croatian)

Political offices
Preceded by Miloš Minić	Yugoslav Minister for Foreign Affairs 1978–1982	Succeeded by Lazar Mojsov
Party political offices
Preceded by Jure Bilić	0 President of the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia 0 1983–1984	Succeeded by Mika Špiljak

[vjesnik-1] Krušelj, Željko (16 February 2006). "Umro Josip Vrhovec". Vjesnik (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 October 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}

[jutarnji-2] 
Europapress Holding. Archived from the original
on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2010.

[slobodna1-3] "Umrla Milka Planinc, bivša premijerka Jugoslavije". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). 7 October 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.

[4] Crnobrnja, Mihailo (1996). "The Yugoslav Drama". McGill-Queen's Press. p. 87.

[5] "Umrl Josip Vrhovec" [Josip Vrhovec dies] (in Slovenian). 24UR. 15 February 2006. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.

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