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Branko Mikulić

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Branko Mikulić
Mikulić in 1988
26th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
President of the Federal Executive Council
In office
15 May 1986 – 16 March 1989
PresidentSinan Hasani
Lazar Mojsov
Raif Dizdarević
Preceded byMilka Planinc
Succeeded byAnte Marković
2nd Member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia for SR Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office
15 May 1984 – 15 May 1986
Preceded byCvijetin Mijatović
Succeeded byHamdija Pozderac
3rd President of the Presidency of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office
26 April 1982 – 26 April 1983
Prime MinisterSeid Maglajlija
Preceded byRaif Dizdarević
Succeeded byMilanko Renovica
6th President of the Executive Council of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office
1967–1969
Preceded byRudi Kolak
Succeeded byDragutin Kosovac
Additional positions
3rd President of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In office
9 April 1969 – 11 May 1978
Preceded byCvijetin Mijatović
Succeeded byNikola Stojanović
Personal details
Born(1928-06-10)10 June 1928
Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Died12 April 1994(1994-04-12) (aged 65)
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Political partyLeague of Communists
Alma materUniversity of Zagreb

Branko Mikulić[pronunciation?] (10 June 1928 – 12 April 1994) was a Yugoslav politician who served as Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1986 to 1989. Mikulić was one of the leading politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the communist rule in the former Yugoslavia.[1] He was a member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia for SR Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1984 to 1986, and previously served as President of the Presidency of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1982 to 1983.

Mikulić also served as President of the Executive Council of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1967 to 1969. He was President of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1969 to 1978 as well.

Early life and education

Mikulić was born to a Herzegovinian Croat family in 1928 in the vicinity of Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. His father was a prosperous farmer and a leading local member of the Croatian Peasant Party, who during World War II became a deputy on the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ZAVNOBiH).[2] Mikulić finished gymnasium in Bugojno and joined the Yugoslav Partisans in 1943.[dubious – discuss] After the war, he attended the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Economy.[citation needed]

Early political career

As a young and ambitious party leader, after studying in Zagreb, Mikulić returned to his birthplace to become a full-time politician. He became a deputy for Bugojno and for the West Bosnian district, and in 1965 secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina – before being elected its president in 1969.

Mikulić and his team proceeded to build a system of social and national equality on the ZAVNOBiH model, by way of full emancipation of the Bosniak nation and reintegration of the Bosnian Croats into the political system. Meanwhile, western Herzegovina enjoyed economic regeneration during Mikulić's rule.

While working within the communist system, politicians that included Mikulić, but also Džemal Bijedić and Hamdija Pozderac, reinforced and protected the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and were considered as the backbone of the political system of Bosnia and Herzegovina during much of the 1970s and '80s. Their efforts proved key during the turbulent period following Tito's death in 1980, and are today considered some of the early steps towards Bosnian independence.

Premiership (1986–1989)

Mikulić alongside Beatrix of the Netherlands, 6 December 1988

Mikulić was nominated as Prime Minister by the Yugoslav Presidency as successor to Milka Planinc in January 1986.[3] In Ljubljana, Slovenian sociologist Tomaž Mastnak criticized Mikulić's nomination over the radio. The government subsequently laid charges against Mastnak.[4] On 15 May 1986, he was appointed President of the Federal Executive Council of Yugoslavia.

In March 1987, Mikulić was publicly rebuked for his economic policy by striking workers who refused to serve him while in Kranjska Gora for a ski-jump competition.[5] After the outbreak of 70 strikes nationally in a two-week period (with strikes being illegal in Yugoslavia), Mikulić threatened to mobilize the army to restore order in May 1987.[6] His government devalued the dinar by 25% on 17 November 1987.[7] Mikulić reached a Standby Agreement with the International Monetary Fund in 1988.[8] SR Croatia and SR Slovenia attempted to launch a no-confidence motion against Mikulić in May 1988, but this proved unsuccessful.[9]

In June 1988, several thousand people protested in front of the Federal Assembly calling for Mikulić's resignation.[10] After a no-confidence vote in the Federal Assembly, Mikulić resigned his post on 30 December 1988 and returned to Sarajevo. With this, his government became the first and only to resign in the history of communist Yugoslavia. Mikulić left office with Yugoslavia in 21 billion USD of debt to Western countries.[11] He was replaced by Ante Marković on 16 March 1989.

Death

Mikulić received the last rites shortly before his death. He died quietly on 12 April 1994 during the siege of Sarajevo. Mikulić was buried in the Catholic cemetery Sv. Josip in Sarajevo.[12][13]

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Branko Mikulic: A Man who refused all Calls to leave besieged Sarajevo". Sarajevo Times. 1 April 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  2. ^ Lasić & 13 May 2015.
  3. ^ AROUND THE WORLD; Yugoslav Panel Proposes Croat as Prime Minister
  4. ^ Violations of the Helsinki accords, Yugoslavia: a report prepared for the Helsinki Review Conference, Vienna, November 1986. Human Rights Watch, 1986 (p. 20).
  5. ^ Workers Joke, but Yugoslavian Economy Isn't Funny[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "YUGOSLAVIA VOWS FIGHT OVER UNREST". Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  7. ^ Yugoslav Devaluation, The New York Times
  8. ^ Bartlett, William. Europe's troubled region: economic development, institutional reform and social welfare in the Western Balkans. Routledge, 2008 (p. 14).
  9. ^ Mikulic survives call for no-confidence vote
  10. ^ Ramet, Sabrina P., Social currents in Eastern Europe: the sources and consequences of the great transformation. Duke University Press, 1995 (p. 38).
  11. ^ Yugoslavian Prime Minister Mikulic and Cabinet resign
  12. ^ "Onaj bez kojeg ne bi bilo tako kako je bilo". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  13. ^ Groblje „SV. JOSIP“ Archived August 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

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Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Yugoslavia
1986–1989 		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by President of the Organising Committee for the Winter Olympic Games
1984 		Succeeded by
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