Josip Boljkovac

Josip Boljkovac
Minister of the Interior
In office
30 May 1990 – 2 July 1991
Prime Minister Stjepan Mesić (1990)
Josip Manolić (1990–1991)
Preceded by Post created
Succeeded by Onesin Cvitan
Personal details
Born 12 November 1920
Vukova Gorica, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Died 10 November 2014 (aged 93)
Political party League of Communists of Yugoslavia (–1990)
Croatian Democratic Union (1990–1994)
Croatian Independent Democrats
Children Jugoslav Boljkovac[1]
Matija Boljkovac[2]

Josip Boljkovac (12 November 1920 – 10 November 2014) was a Croatian politician who served as the first Minister of Internal Affairs in the Croatian Government.

During World War II, Boljkovac fought with the Yugoslav Partisans since the very beginning of the anti-fascist uprising. He even met Randolph Churchill during his military mission. After the war, he served with the state secret police OZNA. He was later appointed as mayor of Karlovac, a post he held from 1963 to 1969.[3]

After democratic reforms in Croatia in the early 1990s he joined the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and became the country's first Minister of Internal Affairs. He later left the party to join the Croatian Independent Democrats (HND). With that party's marginalization, he joined the liberal Croatian People's Party (HNS). Boljkovac also ran on the electoral list of the Croatian Party of Pensioners (HSU) and the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) in separate elections.[4] In 2008, Boljkovac launched a bid to form a Josip Broz Tito Society, to celebrate the role of the former Yugoslav president.[5]

Local police investigated Boljkovac's role in World War II and post-war SR Croatia, which led to his arrest on 2 November 2011 on charges of war crimes for his role in the massacre of 21 civilians in the vicinity of Duga Resa in May 1945.[6] He was transferred to Remetinec prison where he was detained for one month due to the severity of the charges. After only two days in detention, he was transferred to a hospital for prisoners due to his bad health.[7] Following the appeal to the Constitutional Court, charges against him were dropped on 29 November 2011.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Otvorena istraga, Boljkovcu određeno mjesec dana pritvora, Večernji list
  2. ↑ Josip Boljkovac pred sutkinjom negirao krivnju, određen mu je pritvor
  3. ↑ Svjedoci: "Strijeljane civile drugi zatvorenici nosili su do jama"
  4. ↑ O Josipu Boljkovcu iz pera njegova sugrađanina Danka Plevnika
  5. ↑ Boljkovac osniva društvo "Josip Broz Tito" u Karlovcu, Slobodna Dalmacija
  6. ↑ Boljkovac prevezen u zatvor u Remetincu, Croatian Radiotelevision
  7. ↑ Josip Boljkovac premješten u zatvorsku bolnicu
  8. ↑ Josip Boljkovac pušten na slobodu

External links