Savka Dabčević-Kučar

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Savka Dabčević-Kučar
Savka Dabčević-Kučar in 2007
Secretary of the League of Communists of Croatia
In office 8 May 1969 – 14 December 1971
President	Jakov Blažević
Prime Minister	Dragutin Haramija
Preceded by	Vladimir Bakarić
Succeeded by	Milka Planinc
President of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Croatia
In office 11 May 1967 – 8 May 1969
President	Jakov Blažević
Preceded by	Mika Špiljak
Succeeded by	Dragutin Haramija
President of the Croatian People's Party
In office 13 October 1990 – 1995
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Radimir Čačić
Personal details
Born	Savka Dabčević (1923-12-06)6 December 1923 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Died	6 August 2009(2009-08-06) (aged 85) Zagreb, Croatia
Nationality	Croatian
Political party	SKJ (1943–1971) HNS (1990–2009)
Spouse	Ante Kučar ​ ​ (m. 1951; died 2003)​

Savka Dabčević-Kučar (6 December 1923 – 6 August 2009) was a

Dabčević-Kučar came into the public spotlight in the late 1960s as a member of a younger and more reformist generation of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia leaders. With the tacit blessing of Josip Broz Tito, she and Miko Tripalo became the leaders of the SKH. In 1967 she became the President of the Executive Council (Prime Minister) of the Socialist Republic of Croatia, a constituent republic of SFR Yugoslavia, giving her the distinction of being the first female head of government of a political entity in Europe.

Career

In the late 1960s, the party adopted a new course demanding greater autonomy for Croatia within Yugoslavia and freedoms for the people. Her policy, propagated through mass rallies, became a movement later called the Croatian Spring, being one of the '68 student revolutions. Consequently, Dabčević-Kučar became one of the most popular political leaders at the time, being affectionately called "Savka, queen of Croatians".

Not everyone was happy with the new course. Open manifestations of Croatian nationalism created tensions in ethnically mixed areas, which served as an argument for the Yugoslav People's Army and more conservative elements of the party who wanted the movement suppressed. At the same time, the Croatian leadership was also challenged by a student movement with even more radical demands.

In December 1971 Tito held a party leadership conference in

When multi-party democracy finally arrived in Croatia, Dabčević-Kučar and Tripalo returned to the public stage, using their long-accumulated reputation. They refused to endorse a single party, and instead initiated the formation of a broad coalition of the moderate middle, called the Coalition of People's Accord. The coalition failed to make a major impact at the 1990 elections, with most opting for Franjo Tuđman and his Croatian Democratic Union party.

With the coalition falling apart, Dabčević-Kučar and Tripalo formed their own party, the

As a presidential candidate Savka Dabčević trailed third behind Dražen Budiša. The HNS refused to form coalitions with other opposition parties, allowing the ruling Croatian Democratic Union to win some constituencies with less than fifth of all votes. With the party humiliated, and nearly bankrupt after a lavish but ineffective campaign, the aging Dabčević-Kučar left the party leadership to the younger Radimir Čačić.

Personal life

She died in

External links

• Vlado Vurušić (6 August 2009). "Heroina Hrvatskog proljeća (Eulogy to Savka Dabčević-Kučar)". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 9 August 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2010.