Đurađ "Đuro" Pucar "Stari" ( sr-cyr, Ђурађ Ђуро Пуцар, ; 13 December 1899 – 12 April 1979) was a Yugoslav and Bosnian politician. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was a member of the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

and was later decorated with the

Order of the People's Hero The Order of the People's Hero or the Order of the National Hero ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Orden narodnog heroja, Oрден народног хероја; sl, Red narodnega heroja, mk, Oрден на народен херој, Orden na ...

and twice with the

Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour ( sh, Orden junaka socijalističkog rada / , sl, Red junaka socialističnega dela, mk, Орден на јунак на социјалистичката работа) was the fourth highest state decoration ...

. After the war he held the position of the President of the Presidium of the

Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...

from 1946–48 and from 1948–53 he served as the President of the Government of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Biography

Politički zatvorenici u Kraljevini Jugoslaviji

Pucar was born on 13 December 1899 in Kesići (part of

Bosansko Grahovo Bosansko Grahovo ( sr-cyr, Босанско Грахово) is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in western Bosnia and Herzegovina along ...

). He originated from a poor peasant family. After he finished elementary school he learned farriery in Baranja and

Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. During that time he connected with other workers and became a member of a worker's movement. In 1920, he joined the

Young Communist League of Yugoslavia , SKOJ mk, Сојуз на комунистичката младина на Југославија, СКМЈ sl, Zveza komunistične mladine Jugoslavije, ZKMJ , colorcode = red , founded = 1919 , dissolved = 1948 , succeeded by = League of S ...

, and in 1922 he became a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. He was very active in the unions and for a long time he was the union's official. From 1924 to 1929 his activity was based in

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, ...

Because of the dissemination of leaflets by his "Bečkerečka grupa", he was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Court for Protection of the State. Because he continued his party activity with other prisoners he was sentenced to additional two years, spending ten years in prisons of

Lepoglava Lepoglava is a town in Varaždin County, northern Croatia, located southwest of Varaždin, west of Ivanec, and northeast of Krapina. Demographics A total of 8,283 residents in the municipality (2011 census) live in the following settlements: * ...

and

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, hu, Szávaszentdemeter, la, Sirmium) is a city and the administrative center of the Srem District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank ...

. After he was released Pucar lived in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

illegally by order of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. In Sarajevo he worked in the provincial committee of the Communist Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Soon, he was arrested by the police and returned to his hometown, however Pucar returned to Sarajevo and continue his illegal activity. As a delegate of the Communist Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pucar participated in the Fifth National Conference of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in Zagreb in November 1940. At that conference he was elected to be a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. After he returned to Sarajevo he worked on popularization of the Communist Party until the start of the

Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was p ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in April 1941. When

World War II in Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attacked the US ...

began, Pucar was one of the main organizers of the Partisans on the territory of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. When the Central Committee of the Communist Party decided to start a rebellion against the

Axis forces The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

on 4 July 1941, Pucar went to

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

. In Banja Luka, Pucar prepared a rebellion in

Bosanska Krajina Bosanska Krajina ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крајина, ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by a number of rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrba ...

, and when action started he joined the Yugoslav Partisans. He was member of Partisans until the end of the war, commanding with Bosanska Krajina Partisans. As a secretary of Regional Committee of the Communist Party for Bosanska Krajina, Pucar constantly visited the Party's organizations and recruited volunteers. He participated in the Party's consultations in Šehitluci near

and Orlovići near

Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...

. During the war, Pucar was one of the most notable persons in Bosanska Krajina. He organized various political and military consultations. Pucar came into conflict with the

during the Battle of Kozara and Battle for Grmeč. He was a member of the Supreme Command of the People's Liberation Movement's detachments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vice-President of

ZAVNOBiH The State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Zemaljsko antifašističko vijeće narodnog oslobođenja Bosne i Hercegovine, Земаљскo aнтифашистичко виjеће наро� ...

and of the Presidency of AVNOJ. After the Communists took power at the end of the war, Pucar served on various high-ranking positions; he was the Minister without portfolio in the first Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Imamović, Mustafa. Historija države i prava Bosne i Hercegovine, pg. 414. M. Imamović, 1999. President of the Presidium of the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vice-President of the Presidium of the People's Assembly of FPR Yugoslavia from 1946 to September 1948. He was also the President of the Executive Council of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and secretary of the Central Committee of the

League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina , logo = Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , colorcode = , leader = President of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina , successor = SDP BiH , foundation = 1943 , di ...

from September 1948 to December 1953. He was the President of the Assembly of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina again from December 1953 to June 1963. Pucar was a member of the Executive Committee of the

League of Communists of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...

and secretary of the Executive Committee of the

. Pucar died on 12 April 1979 in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

at the Military Medical Academy and was buried in ''Novo groblje'' (New Cemetery) in

Gallery

File:Djuro Pucar Stari.jpg, Bust in

Notes

References

External links