Ankica Anita Lepej (1948 – 18 January 2022) was a Croatian bank clerk who uncovered a secret bank account and funds of the wife of the

Croatian president 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 ...

, thus becoming the first prominent

whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

in modern Croatian history.

Biography

Lepej was born in the

People's Republic of Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, in 1948. She lived a modest family life in Zagreb and was working as a bank clerk in main office of

Zagrebačka banka Zagrebačka banka d.d. is the largest bank in Croatia, owned by Milan-based UniCredit. Overview Zagrebačka banka was formed in 1977, intended to provide loans for local companies, taking over some former assets and operations including from th ...

Ban Jelačić square Ban Jelačić Square (; ) is the central square of the city of Zagreb, Croatia, named after ban Josip Jelačić. Its official name is and is colloquially called . The square is located below Zagreb's old city cores Gradec and Kaptol, just di ...

in Zagreb. In 1998, she learned that

Ankica Tuđman Ankica Tuđman (née Žumbar; 24 July 1926 – 6 October 2022) was the wife of Franjo Tuđman, the first President of an independent Croatia from 1991 until 1999, following the country's secession from SFR Yugoslavia, and the last President o ...

, wife of the first president of Croatia, deposited 210,000

German marks The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was typically ca ...

and 15,740

US dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

into an unreported bank account. Bank offered a million- kuna reward in ''

Jutarnji list () is a Croatian daily newspaper based in Zagreb. It was published on 6 April 1998 by EPH (Europapress holding, owned by Ninoslav Pavić), which eventually changed its name in Hanza Media after being bought by Marijan Hanžeković. The newspap ...

'' for any info on the whistleblower. Lepej presented herself with a lawyer and, subsequently, got fired by the bank (with only 11 months left to retirement) and arrested. The charges were eventually dropped, after Franjo Tuđman's death. Public outcry was huge, with both petition signing (co-organized by

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 Croa ...

) and media votes (TV talk-show Latinica), as reported by TV show Labirint. Her husband was also an earlier victim of

corrupt Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

and the family was forced to sell their apartment to survive. The city of

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 ...

later provided them with modest accommodation in public housing in 2006. She wrote the book ''Istina – Savjest iznad bankarske tajne'' (''Truth – Conscience Above Banking Secrecy'') describing her experience. Lepej had long-term health complications related to cancer. She died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

complications in

on 18 January 2022, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia The COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The first case in the Republic of Croatia was reported in Zagreb on 25 February 2020, when a patient who had come from Italy was tested positive. On the ...

Recognition

Prominent public figures praised her work, sacrifice and commitment, including the parliamentarian Urša Raukar Gamulin who gave a short speech dedicated to Lepej in the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

. The city of Zagreb made a decision to name a street after Ankica Lepej. ''Promenade of Ankica Lepej (Croatian: Šetalište Ankice Lepej)'' is located in Zagreb's Gajnice, at the intersection of streets ''Čileanska'' and ''Kerestinečki žrtava''. The decision was made by the Parliamentary Committee for Naming Settlements, Streets and Squares headed by

Rada Borić Rada Borić (born 1951) is a Croatian politician, scholar, feminist, and women's rights activist. She is serving as a member of Croatian Parliament for the green-left We Can! party. She is one of the founders and the current vice-president of th ...

, that is, the Assembly of the City of Zagreb. Ankica Lepej worked in the local branch of Zagrebačka banka, and lived nearby for most of her life.

References

External links

Video of speech on Ankica Lepej in Croatian ParliamentVideo of Croatian national TV (HRT) show Labirint on life of Ankica Lepej
1948 births 2022 deaths Croatian women activists Croatian whistleblowers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery {{Croatia-bio-stub