Boris Bakrač (25 March 1912 in Požega – 29 November 1989 in

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 ...

) was a Croatian civil engineer and politician. Bakrač graduated from the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

in 1936 before starting a career in civil engineering. After the outbreak of the

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 ...

and the

Invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

, he joined 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 ...

, as its covert agent in Zagreb in 1942. A year later, the Partisan resistance command in Croatia appointed Bakrač the chief negotiator for

prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoner of war, prisoners of war, spy, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, cadaver, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conven ...

s with the

Axis powers 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 ...

within the framework of the

German–Yugoslav Partisan negotiations The German–Yugoslav Partisan negotiations () were held between Nazi Germany, German commanders in the Independent State of Croatia and the Partisan Supreme Headquarters, Supreme Headquarters of the Yugoslav Partisans in March 1943 during World ...

. He oversaw exchange of a total of 700 to 800 Axis-held

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

in the process. He conducted the negotiations under the pseudonym Ivo Zuljević to conceal his identity. In 1944, following the Belgrade offensive, Bakrač evacuated

Mišo Broz Aleksandar "Mišo" Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Александар "Мишо" Броз; born May 1941) is a Croatian retired diplomat. He is the youngest son of Yugoslav president and Marshal Josip Broz (1892–1980) and Herta Haas (1914–2010). Ea ...

, the youngest son of the Yugoslav Partisan leader

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

, from Zagreb to

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 ...

. Mišo was born in Zagreb shortly after the outbreak of the war. He and his mother

Herta Haas Herta Haas (29 March 1914 – 5 March 2010) was of Austrian descent and Yugoslav Partisan during World War II and the third wife of Josip Broz Tito, leader of the partisans and a future president of Yugoslavia. Early life and family Haas was bor ...

remained in the city and in the nearby area of

Hrvatsko Zagorje Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian language, Croatian for 'backland' or 'behind the hills') is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica mount ...

aided by Partisan supporters. After the war, Bakrač was the deputy minister and then minister of construction in the government of 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 ...

between 1945 and 1951. From 1958 to 1963, Bakrač again became a member of the

Croatian government 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 president of the Government (), infor ...

. He was a member of the Croatian Sabor until 1974, serving as the deputy president of its Executive Committee from 1969 to 1972, and the deputy Speaker from 1972 to 1974. In 1975–1978, he was a member of the Presidnecy of Croatia tasked with international relations. Bakrač was also a member of the Assembly of Yugoslavia from 1953 to 1957, and a member of the Central Committee of the

League of Communists of Croatia League of Communists of Croatia (, SKH) was the Socialist Republic of Croatia, Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ). It came into power in 1945. Until 1952, it was known as Communist Party of Croatia (, KPH). The party ...

from 1954 to 1974. At various times, Bakrač was the President of the Association of Engineers and Technicians of Croatia, the President of the Tourist Association of Croatia, the President of the Federal Chamber of Civil Engineers of Yugoslavia, the President of the

Croatian Football Federation The Croatian Football Federation (, HNS) is the national governing body of football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible f ...

, the President of the Croatian Sports Association, and the President of the

Yugoslav Olympic Committee The Yugoslav Olympic Committee (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенски олимпијски комитет, Jugoslovenski olimpijski komitet, separator=" / "; ; ; also known by the acronym JOK) was the non-profit organization representing Yug ...

. In 1960, he became a permanent member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

. In 1987, Bakrač received the Silver

Olympic Order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Tradit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakrač, Boris 1912 births 1989 deaths League of Communists of Croatia politicians Croatian people of World War II Croatian International Olympic Committee members Recipients of the Olympic Order Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament Members of the Assembly of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Civil engineers People from Požega, Croatia University of Zagreb alumni