Albert Kramer (6 October 1882 – 27 May 1943) was a

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

n and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

n politician and lawyer. Kramer studied philosophy and law at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...

and the

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

from 1903 until 1910 before working as a

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...

and correspondent of

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

-based ''Slovenski narod'' and

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

-based ''Edinost'' in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. In 1912–1913, Kramer travelled to Condominium of Bosnia, Croatia-Slavonia and

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

, establishing contacts with South Slavic political leaders in those areas of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

supporting the Yugoslavist goals. In 1917, he established contacts with the leading Slovenian liberal politician Gregor Žerjav and became the leader of the Slovenian Popular Progressive Party. In 1918, in the period leading to the

dissolution of Austria-Hungary The dissolution of Austria-Hungary was a major political event that occurred as a result of the growth of internal social contradictions and the separation of different parts of Austria-Hungary. The more immediate reasons for the collapse of the ...

in the final days of the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Kramer became a member of the

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

-based National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and its secretary for the

Slovene Lands The Slovene lands or Slovenian lands ( or in short ) is the historical denomination for the territories in Central and Southern Europe where people primarily spoke Slovene. The Slovene lands were part of the Illyrian provinces, the Austrian Empi ...

and

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

. The council was an interim representative and legislative body of the South Slavs living in Austria-Hungary and it declared the short-lived

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( / ; ) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Prečani (Serbs), Prečani) residing in what were the southernmost parts of th ...

independent. Kramer was a member of the council's delegation dispatched to Prince Regent Alexander of Serbia to request unification of the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs from the regent. The regent proclaimed the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

(later renamed Yugoslavia) on 1 December 1918 In the new kingdom, Kramer was among the founders of the Democratic Party and a member of its central committee 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 ...

. He took part in establishment of the Temporary National Representation, the interim parliament of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Kramer drew up the list of representatives of the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to be appointed to the Temporary National Representation on authorisation by the regent acting as the head of the state. In the 1927 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes parliamentary election, Kramer won the parliamentary seat in the Assembly of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes representing Ljubljana election district. After the end of the Royal dictatorship of 1929 which suspended the parliamentary work, Kramer was re-elected in the 1931 Yugoslavian parliamentary election. In 1918, Kramer was the government minister for the Constituent Assembly and harmonisation of laws and the minister of trade and industry in 1919–1920. In early 1931, Kramer was the Yugoslav ambassador to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

before becoming the minister of construction in 1931, and the minister of trade in 1932. In the 1935 Yugoslavian Senate election, Kramer was elected as a representative of

Drava Banovina The Drava Banovina or Drava Banate (Slovene language, Slovene and Serbo-Croatian: ''Dravska banovina''), was a province (Ban (title), banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of most of present-day Slove ...

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Albert 1882 births 1943 deaths Slovenian politicians Democratic Party (Yugoslavia) politicians Yugoslav National Party politicians Government ministers of Yugoslavia Representatives in the Yugoslav National Assembly (1921–1941) Ambassadors of Yugoslavia to Czechoslovakia Charles University alumni