Dr. Ivan Lorković (1876 – 1926) was a Croatian politician and one of the co-founders of the National Progressive Party (1905). He was a prominent member of the Croat-Serb coalition, a supporter of the Republican organization and member of the United Croatian and Serbian academic youth organization. Between 1926 and 1929 he became the leader of the Croatian Federalist Peasant Party.
Between 1902 and 1905 Ivan Lorković was the editor of the Osijek opposition newspaper, National Defense (Narodna Obrana).[1] The paper helped to revive national awareness, pride and importance in Croatian politics.[2] Using criticism and information he managed to help the middle class and youth of that region to begin to think politically. In 1905, he became one of the co-founders of the National Progressive Party (NSS).
In 1913, he won a seat during the Croatian parliamentary elections as a member of Croatian Republican Peasant Party representing the town of Valpovo. In 1914, Lorković visited Rome to attend a meeting that included politicians from all South Slavic lands within the Monarchy. He arrived with a controversial memorandum on how to break the Austro-Hungarian Empire and preserve the continuation of Croatian statehood.
His proposal received opposition, most notably from Thomas G. Masaryk (founder and first president of the State of Czechoslovakia) who was skeptical about the plan since he did not believe that England and France would accept the idea of the total abrogation of the Empire, and was therefore was in favor of a confederation.[3]
In 1918, due to disagreements over the Yugoslav issue, Lorković left the Croato-Serb coalition and joined the newly-founded community of Croatia (1919). Along with Stjepan Radic and others he entered the so-called "Hrvatski blok" or "Croatian Bloc" formed on January 14, 1922 when the Croatian Republican Peasant Party, the Croatian Community, and the Croatian Party of Rights went into alliance. It existed until November of that year. In 1926, he became the leader of the Croatian Republican Peasant Party.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by none |
Leader of the Croatian Federalist Peasant Party 1926 – 1929 |
Succeeded by Ante Trumbić |