1997 Eastern Slavonia integrity referendum was held on 6 April in short-lived

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

parallel entity of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia which at the time was already governed by the

United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium The United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) was a United Nations, UN peacebuilding Provisional government, transitional administration in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmi ...

(UNTAES) as an UN governed territory. Voters were asked whether they supported the proposal for the region of Eastern Slavonia to remain a single territorial

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

within

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

after the end of UNTAES mandate instead of division into Vukovar-Syrmia and

Osijek-Baranja County Osijek-Baranja County (, , ) is a Counties of Croatia, county in Croatia, located in northeastern Slavonia and Baranya (region), Baranja which is defined part of the Pannonian Plain. Its center is Osijek. Other towns include Đakovo, Našice, Val ...

. Reportedly 99.01% or 99.5% of voters voted for the integrity of the region within Croatia. 77,40% out of 100.275 registered voters participated in the referendum. The

Government of Croatia The Government of Croatia (), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia (), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government (), is the main executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the Prime Minister of Croatia, president o ...

as well as the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

declared the referendum to be illegitimate. Referendum was organized by the parallel Serb bodies in the region ahead of the 1997 Croatian local elections with

Spokesperson for the United States Department of State The Spokesperson for the United States Department of State is a U.S. government official whose primary responsibility is to serve as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State and the U.S. government's foreign policies. The posi ...

R. Nicholas Burns Robert Nicholas Burns (born January 28, 1956) is an American diplomat and international relations scholar. He served as the United States ambassador to China from 2022 to 2025. Burns has had a 25-year career in the State Department and has serv ...

encouraging all citizens of Croatia, Croats and Serbs, to participate in Croatian local elections. Despite the referendum outcome Serbs in the region nonetheless participated in Croatian local elections and a new moderate Serb political party

Independent Democratic Serb Party The Independent Democratic Serb Party ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Самостална демократска српска странка, Samostalna demokratska srpska stranka, SDSS) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia representing the interes ...

won majority of their votes. From the beginning the referendum initiative was perceived as an internal political struggle between the moderates ''(at the time led by Vojislav Stanimirović)'' and hawkish ''(led by

Goran Hadžić Goran Hadžić ( sr-cyrl, Горан Хаџић, ; 7 September 1958 – 12 July 2016) was a Croatian Serb politician and President of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, during the Croatian War of Independence. He was accused of c ...

)'' group among the local Serb political leadership. While hawkish proposal gained overwhelming electorate support, contrary to the war years moderates managed to prevail due to international support for the moderate course, and additional change of position towards moderates both by parties which will form the

Democratic Opposition of Serbia The Democratic Opposition of Serbia ( sr-cyrl, Демократска oпозиција Cрбије, Demokratska opozicija Srbije, abbr. DOS) was a wide electoral alliance of political parties in Serbia, intent on ousting the ruling Socialist Par ...

and

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

regime. Following the referendum, Vojislav Stanimirović met with the

President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the president of the Republic of Croatia (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the country and abroad. The president ...

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...

where he stated his belief that "''the best option would be a Serb county, but if neither Croatia nor the international community is willing to accept it then the formation of the council of Serb municipalities as planned in Erdut Agreement is the second-best option''".

References

{{Serbs of Croatia Referendums in Croatia Eastern Slavonia integrity referendum Eastern Slavonia integrity referendum History of Slavonia Eastern Slavonia integrity referendum Serbian nationalism in Croatia Proposed administrative territorial entities

See also

References