Većeslav Holjevac

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Većeslav Holjevac (August 22nd, 1917 - July 11th, 1970) was a Croatian and Yugoslav soldier and politician.

A native of Karlovac, Holjevac joined Communist Party of Yugoslavia in 1939. Following Axis invasion of Yugoslavia and establishment of Independent State of Croatia, Holjevac was active in resistance movement and in July 1941 he was one of the founders of Partisan units in Kordun and Banovina regions of Croatia. He served as political commisar of Partisan units in that region until the end of war. For his war service he received the title of People's Hero of Yugoslavia.

After the war Holjevac served in many important posts in Tito's Yugoslavia. From 1952 to 1962 he was mayor of Zagreb. As such, he is credited with many important construction projects that modernised the city, most notably the creation of Novi Zagreb. He also successfully lobbied for establishment of Zagreb trade fair. Because of that Holjevac became one of the most popular mayors in Zagreb history and one of the most respected Communist-era politicians.

His daughter Tatjana Holjevac used her father's legacy to successfully launch her own political career during 2005 local elections in Zagreb.

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