Slobodan Lang (8 October 1945 – 23 February 2016) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n physician, professor, diplomat, Member of Parliament, politician and Adviser for Humanitarian Issues of the first Croatian president,

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as ...

Background and education

Lang was born on 8 October 1945 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

. His father was a prominent Croatian university professor,

Rikard Lang Rikard Lang (February 22, 1913 – September 16, 1994) was a prominent Croatian university professor, lawyer and economist. Lang was born to a notable Jewish family, of Ignjat and Terezija Lang, in Vinkovci on February 22, 1913. His father was p ...

, and his mother was from the notable Sorkočević family of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...

. Lang's paternal grandfather Ignjat Lang was president of the

Jewish community Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surround ...

and his grandmother Terezija was a housewife. In 1941, a Dominican

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Hijacint Bošković, attempted to rescue the Langs from

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

persecution. Bošković traveled from Dubrovnik to

with a special permit that allowed him to relocate the Langs to Dubrovnik. Lang's grandfather refused to leave, saying he "was the president of Jews in peace and he will stay one in the war". Both of Lang's grandparents were killed at

Jasenovac Jasenovac () was a concentration and extermination camp established in the village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. The concentration camp, one of the ...

during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. Lang graduated from the

University of Zagreb School of Medicine The School of Medicine ( hr, Medicinski fakultet or MEF) in Zagreb is a Croatian medical school affiliated with the University of Zagreb. It is the oldest and biggest of the four medical schools in Croatia (the other three being in Osijek, Rijeka ...

with a specialty in social medicine.

Later life and career

From 1986 to 1990, Lang was a member of the executive council of the city of Zagreb and secretary of the secretariat of health. He co-organized the Libertas convoy in 1991 during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yu ...

to bring humanitarian aid to besieged

. In 1991, Lang organized a protest against the JNA in Zagreb and a protest against

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...

. He was president of the Croatian Healthy Cities Network and vice president of the Croatian Association of Public Health, as well as a member of several editorial boards of medical and other journals, member of the Committee for Human Rights and Peace of Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences, honorary member of the Croatian Red Cross and honorary member of the Croatian Helsinki Committee. Lang was President of the assembly of the Croatian-American Society. He was the author of more than 100 professional and scientific articles, and authored and co-authored several books. Lang was a personal adviser to President Franjo Tuđman for humanitarian affairs in the period from 1993 until 2000. Lang was a member of the Zagreb Jewish community. On February 12, 2010, he was seriously injured in a car accident, but he recovered from his injuries. In 2012, Lang criticized the statements of Croatia President

Ivo Josipović Ivo Josipović (; born 28 August 1957) is a Croatian academic, jurist, and politician who served as President of Croatia from 2010 to 2015. Josipović entered politics as a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ), and played a ke ...

when the latter addressed the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

in February 2012 and apologized for the crimes committed against the

Jews in Croatia The history of the Jews in Croatia dates back to at least the 3rd century, although little is known of the community until the 10th and 15th centuries. According to the 1931 census, the community numbered 21,505 members, and it is estimated t ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Lang accused Josipović of

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in ...

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, and of insulting Croats, Jews and

for not recognising the communist crimes of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Y ...

against the Croats and Jews. Lang stated: "Josipović spoke in the Knesset without truth, justice, accountability and good for Croatia, Israel and the world. President Ivo Josipović was supposed to deliver a speech in Israel about the two small nations who have shown that there are no small nations. Members of the Knesset should have heard about the pride of Croats from the man whom the Croatian people entrusted to speak about the truth and good, to present the Croatian experience of suffering, trials, persecutions and slander, with the aim of joint efforts for the good of our peoples and for the good of all mankind."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Slobodan 1945 births 2016 deaths Politicians from Zagreb Croatian Jews Physicians from Zagreb Jewish physicians Jewish Croatian politicians Democratic Centre (Croatia) politicians Croatian Democratic Union politicians School of Medicine, University of Zagreb alumni Order of Nikola Šubić Zrinski recipients

Background and education

Later life and career

See also

References