Ivo Banac
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Ivo Banac is a Croatian historian and politician. He is professor of history and director of the Council on European Studies at Yale University.
Some of his most famous writings are
- "The National Question in Yugoslavia: origins, history, politics" (1984)
- "With Stalin against Tito: Cominformist splits in Yugoslav communism" (1988)
- "Cijena Bosne" ["The price of Bosnia"] (1996)
- "Raspad Jugoslavije" ["The Break-up of Yugoslavia"] (2001).
Until recently, he was director of the Institute on Southern Europe at the Central European University, Budapest. He is now also director of the Inter-University Centre in Dubrovnik.
He is a consultant for the Bosnian Institute.
From 1990 onwards, Ivo Banac was also active in Croatian politics. He joined the Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS) and became one of the strongest critics of Franjo Tuđman and his government, especially with regards to policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. He expressed his criticism in a column written for Feral Tribune.
After HSLS split in 1997, Banac joined the Liberal Party. He kept a critical distance towards the government even after LS became part of a new governing left-centre coalition in 2000. He often accused Ivica Račan of SDP of not doing enough to reverse negative policies of Tuđman's era.
Many were surprised to find Banac, who had reputation of maverick and independent intellectual, become leader of LS, and even more were surprised to see him take the post of minister of environmental protection in 2003. He held that post only for few months, until SDP - the party with whom LS was aligned - lost the election to rejuvenated HDZ.
After the elections, Banac advocated a merger of all liberal parties in Croatia. This policy was opposed by Zlatko Kramarić who orchestrated Banac's removal from party leadership in 2004. Banac left LS and now sits in Sabor as an independent representative.
