Josip Vrhovec (9 February 1926 – 14 February 2006) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n 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 (SKH, the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia) from July 1982 to May 1984.

Biography

Born in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

on 9 February 1926, Vrhovec first became politically engaged 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 opposing ...

, during which he became a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia and 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� ...

(1941–1945). After the war, Vrhovec enrolled at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

and graduated from the Faculty of Economics. Upon graduation, Vrhovec started working at the Zagreb-based daily ''

Vjesnik ''Vjesnik'' () was a Croatian state-owned daily newspaper published in Zagreb which ceased publication in April 2012. Originally established in 1940 as a wartime illegal publication of the Communist Party of Croatia, it later built and maintaine ...

'', where he soon became editor of the newspaper's Wednesday edition ( hr, 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 ''Vjesniks correspondent from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(1957–1959) and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(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 Croatian Spring movement in the early 1970s, as a protégé of

Vladimir Bakarić Vladimir Bakarić (; 8 March 1912 – 16 January 1983) was a Yugoslav and Croatian communist revolutionary and a politician. Bakarić helped to organise the partisan resistance in the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. From 1948 ...

's faction within the League of Communists of Croatia (SKH). 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). As a member of the Central Committee he submitted a proposal to

Milka Planinc Milka Planinc ( Malada; ; 21 November 1924 – 7 October 2010) was a Croatian politician active in SFR Yugoslavia. She served as Prime Minister of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1982 to 1986, the first and only woman to hold this ...

to arrest and charge members of the Croatian Spring, including Franjo Tuđman,

Marko Veselica Marko Veselica (January 9, 1936 – February 17, 2017 in Zagreb) was a Croatian politician, economist and university professor. During the Croatian Spring, Marko Veselica developed a reputation of being a Croatian nationalist. He was close to Iv ...

Dražen Budiša Dražen Budiša (born 25 July 1948) is a Croatian politician who used to be a leading opposition figure in the 1990s and a two-time presidential candidate. As president of the Croatian Social Liberal Party through the 1990s he remains to date the ...

Šime Đodan Šime Đodan (27 December 1927 – 2 October 2007) was a Croatian politician, a two-term Member of Parliament who also briefly served as the 3rd Minister of Defense of Croatia in 1991. Personal life Šime Đodan was born on 27 December 1927 i ...

Vlado Gotovac Vladimir "Vlado" Gotovac (18 September 1930 – 7 December 2000) was a Croatian poet and politician. Early activism In the late 1960s, Gotovac joined the Croatian movement demanding political and economic reform, which eventually led to the Cro ...

, and Hrvoje Šošić. 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 Veselin Đuranović (; 17 May 1925 – 30 August 1997) was a Yugoslav communist politician. Biography Đuranović was born near Danilovgrad, in what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He served as the chairman of the executive ...

and during the last two years of Josip Broz Tito's reign before his death in 1980. 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 West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...

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 In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...

and market economy reforms in Yugoslavia. Despite this, the economic reform commission chaired by Vrhovec from 1985 to 1986 made little mention of democratization. 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 The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Sociali ...

in the 9-member

Presidency of Yugoslavia The Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( sr, Председништво СФРЈ, Predsedništvo SFRJ, Bosnian and hr, Predsjedništvo SFRJ, sl, Predsedstvo SFRJ, mk, Председателство на СФРЈ, Preds ...

, 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 1987 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIV Summer Universiade, took place in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. It involved participants from 111 countries and over 6,000 individual sportspersons and members of teams. Infrastructural cha ...

, the biggest sporting event hosted by Zagreb. After his term ended, Vrhovec effectively retired from politics. Vrhovec died at the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Zagreb on 15 February 2006 and was buried at

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, hr, Gradsko groblje Mirogoj), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery ( hr, Groblje Mirogoj), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members o ...

in Zagreb on 21 February 2006.

References

External links

Umro Josip Vrhovec, posljednji Titov ministar vanjskih poslova
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrhovec, Josip 1926 births 2006 deaths Politicians from Zagreb Yugoslav Partisans members Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb alumni League of Communists of Croatia politicians Government ministers of Yugoslavia Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Central Committee of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia members Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia members Foreign ministers of Yugoslavia Vjesnik editors