Mika Špiljak

Mika Špiljak (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [mîka ʃpîʎak] or [-ʃpîʎaːk]; 28 November 1916 – 18 May 2007) was a Croatian politician in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Mika Špiljak
5th President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia
In office 15 May 1983 – 15 May 1984
Prime Minister	Milka Planinc
Preceded by	Petar Stambolić
Succeeded by	Veselin Đuranović
2nd Member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia for SR Croatia
In office January 1983 – 15 May 1984
Preceded by	Vladimir Bakarić
Succeeded by	Josip Vrhovec
President of the Council of Peoples of the Federal Assembly
In office 1969–1974
Succeeded by	Post abolished
21st President of the Federal Executive Council
In office 16 May 1967 – 18 May 1969
President	Josip Broz Tito
Preceded by	Petar Stambolić
Succeeded by	Mitja Ribičič
4th President of the Executive Council of SR Croatia
In office June 1963 – May 1967
President	Jakov Blažević
Prime Minister	Dragutin Haramija
Preceded by	Zvonko Brkić
Succeeded by	Savka Dabčević-Kučar
10th President of the League of Communists of Croatia
In office 1984–1986
President	Jakša Petrić Pero Car Ema Derossi-Bjelajac
Prime Minister	Ante Marković
Preceded by	Josip Vrhovec
Succeeded by	Stanko Stojčević
31st Mayor of Zagreb
In office 1949–1950
Preceded by	Eugen Starešinić
Succeeded by	Milivoj Rukavina
Personal details
Born	28 November 1916 Sisak, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary
Died	18 May 2007 (aged 90) Zagreb, Croatia
Nationality	Croatian
Political party	League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ)

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 opened the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Špiljak then served as Chairman of the Collective Presidency of Yugoslavia from 1983 until 1984. 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

Further reading

• Klasić, Hrvoje (2019). Mika Špiljak, revolucionar i državnik (in Croatian). Naklada Ljevak. ISBN 9789533553177.