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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a member of the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

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; , ), was a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav gallantry medal, the ...

and twice with the Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour. After the war he held the position of the President of the Presidency of the People's Assembly of the

People's 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

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

(later President of the Executive Council) of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Biography

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

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

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

Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #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 c ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

. During that time he connected with other workers and became a member of a workers' movement. In 1920, he joined the Young Communist League of Yugoslavia, and in 1922 he became a member of the

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...

. 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 (, ; , , ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Central Europe and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, contemporary Sub ...

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 and

Sremska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city in Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Sava, Sava river. , the city has a total population of 36,764 inhabitants, while its adminis ...

. After he was released Pucar lived in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

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 by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

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 Invasion of Yugoslavia, invaded and swiftly conquered by Axis powers, Axis forces and partitioned among Nazi Germany, Germany, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), It ...

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

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

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

Axis forces The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

on 4 July 1941, Pucar went to

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

. In Banja Luka, Pucar prepared a rebellion in Bosanska Krajina, 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 in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it had a population of 80,916 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in the northwestern part of the Bosanska ...

. 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, Земаљско антифашистичко виjеће нар� ...

and of the Presidency of

AVNOJ The Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia,; ; commonly abbreviated as the AVNOJ, was a deliberative and legislative body that was established in Bihać, Yugoslavia, in November 1942. It was established by Josip Broz ...

. 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 Presidency of the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vice-President of the Presidency of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

of the Federal People's Republic of 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 A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina from September 1948 to December 1953. In 1953, the Presidency of the People's Assembly was abolished amid nationwide constitutional reforms. Subsequently, he again served as head of state in his capacity as President of the Assembly of the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 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, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats ...

and secretary of the Executive Committee of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pucar died on 12 April 1979 in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

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