Mika Špiljak

Mika Špiljak
Špiljak in 1967
5th President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia
In office
15 May 1983 – 15 May 1984
Prime MinisterMilka Planinc
Preceded byPetar Stambolić
Succeeded byVeselin Đuranović
2nd Member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia for SR Croatia
In office
16 January 1983 – 15 May 1984
Preceded byVladimir Bakarić
Succeeded byJosip Vrhovec
21st Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
President of the Federal Executive Council
In office
16 May 1967 – 18 May 1969
PresidentJosip Broz Tito
Preceded byPetar Stambolić
Succeeded byMitja Ribičič
Additional positions
10th President of the League of Communists of Croatia
In office
14 May 1984 – 18 May 1986
Prime MinisterAnte Marković
Preceded byJosip Vrhovec
Succeeded byStanko Stojčević
4th President of the Executive Council of SR Croatia
In office
June 1963 – May 1967
PresidentJakov Blažević
Preceded byZvonko Brkić
Succeeded bySavka Dabčević-Kučar
33rd Mayor of Zagreb
In office
1949–1950
Preceded byDragutin Saili
Succeeded byMilivoj Rukavina
Personal details
Born(1916-11-28)28 November 1916
Sisak, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary
Died18 May 2007(2007-05-18) (aged 90)
Zagreb, Croatia
NationalityCroatian
Political partyLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia

Mika Špiljak (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [mîka ʃpîʎak] or [-ʃpîʎaːk]; 28 November 1916 – 18 May 2007) was a Croatian politician who spent most of his political career as a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia in the SFR Yugoslavia. He served as President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia from 1983 to 1984 and was also Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1967 to 1969.

Špiljak was previously President of the Executive Council of SR Croatia from 1963 to 1967. He was also President of the League of Communists of Croatia from 1984 to 1986.

Early years

He was born in Odra Sisačka (part of Sisak), in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (present-day Croatia). His father Dragutin was a railway worker. Špiljak began working at the age of 16. He joined the Communist Party in 1938 and fought with Partisans during World War II.

Career

From 1949 to 1950, he was the mayor of Zagreb.

In 1963, Špiljak was appointed the Chairman of the Executive Council of Croatia and served until his 1967 appointment as the President of the Federal Executive Council, Yugoslavia's Prime Minister. He served in that capacity until 1969.

Špiljak then served as President of the collective Presidency of Yugoslavia from 1983 until 1984. While holding this office, Špiljak opened the 1984 Winter Olympics.

He was subsequently elected President of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia from 1984 until 1986.

Death

He died in 2007 at the age of 90.[1] He was cremated in Zagreb.[2]

In the 2000s (decade), German courts linked Špiljak to the assassination of Croatian emigrant Stjepan Đureković in 1983.[3] After the hearings in Germany, all the links connecting him to the assassination were dropped.

References

  1. ^ "Umro bivši hrvatski i jugoslavenski čelnik Mika Špiljak" (in Croatian)
  2. ^ Umro Mika Špiljak Archived 2011-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ U Njemačkoj uhićen bivši jugoslavenski agent zbog ubojstva Stjepana Đurekovića, Slobodna Dalmacija
  • Klasić, Hrvoje (2019). Mika Špiljak, revolucionar i državnik (in Croatian). Naklada Ljevak. ISBN 9789533553177.