Ivo Baldasar
Ivo Baldasar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 71st Mayor of Split | |
| Assumed office 7 June 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Željko Kerum |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 August 1958[1] Split, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party (1998-2016) Milan Bandić 365 (2016-) |
| Spouse | Snježana Baldasar |
| Alma mater | University of Split |
| Occupation | Politician, businessman |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Ivo Baldasar (born 5 August 1958) is a Croatian politician and current 71st Mayor of Split. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) until he was thrown out of the party in 2016. After that, he joined forces with the Milan Bandić 365 party.
Political career
Baldasar spent his early career working as a lawyer within the tourism industry, concentrating mainly on maritime business.[2] He joined the SDP in 1998, and in 2009 became a city councilor for the city of Split. In 2012 he became the party's candidate for mayor of the city, winning the second round of elections over Vjekoslav Ivanišević to become the 75th mayor of Split.
On 9 May 2014 Baldasar attended the ceremony of revealing the monument to the 9th Battalion "Rafael Boban" of the Croatian Defence Forces (Hrvatske obrambene snage – HOS) that participated in the defense of Croatian during the Croatian War of Independence.[3] His presence was criticised because of the Ustaše inspired symbolism used by the HOS, including naming their unit after Rafael Boban who commanded the Black Legion, dressing in black uniforms and using the Za dom spremni motto.[4] Some news reports suggested that after the commander of the Battalion ended his speech with Za dom spremni, the gathered crowd clapped, with Baldasar allegedly, reluctantly doing the same.[5] This was denied by Baldasar himself explaining he didn't hear anything and that he had an agreement with the organizers that such things wouldn't happen during the ceremony.[6] He later defended his actions explaining that the members of HOS were anti-fascists in a way, because they fought against a new form of fascism during the Croatian War of Independence. He concluded that his actions were an attempt overcoming historical differences and that he would do it again.[7]
Ahead of 2013 referendum for changing constitution so it would define marriage as being a union between a man and a woman, Baldasar urged people to vote against proposed change.[8]
On 7 May 2016, Zoran Milanović dissolved the SDP organization in Split and thus all the party members in Split were thrown out of the party until a new chain o command is organized. This was decided in order to prevent Baldasar from running again as mayor because his controversial stances have gained him unpopularity in the city.[9]
On 8 June 2016, he announced his collaboration with Zagreb mayor, Milan Bandić for the next local elections.[10]
References
- ^ "Ivo Baldasar: Kongresni centar bit će atrakcija istočne obale". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). 6 May 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ^ "Ivo Baldasar novi ravnatelj Agencije za obalni linijski pomorski promet". Lider (in Croatian). 14 August 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ Brajević, Ines; Dadić, Joško (9 May 2014). "U Splitu otkriven spomenik IX. bojni HOS-a: "Pobijedili smo u Domovinskom ratu, pobijedit ćemo i u miru"". dalmacijanews.hr. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Baldasar na udaru zbog spomen-obilježja HOS-u". vijesti.hrt.hr. Croatian Radiotelevision. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Skandalozni SDP-ov gradonačelnik Splita: Baldasar pobijedio antifašizam uz stijeg Rafaela viteza Bobana". Index.hr. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ Vuković, Slavica (14 May 2014). "'Antifašist sam, ali HOS-ovcima bih opet došao'". vecernji.hr. Večernji list. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ Petranović, Damir (14 May 2014). "'Opet bih otišao s HOS-ovcima. I oni su antifašisti!'". tportal.hr. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/dalmacija/split/clanak/id/218377/ivo-baldasar-glasam-protiv-zato-jer-se-ogranicava-ljubav
- ^ Tomičić, Tihana (7 May 2016). "Splitski SDP-ovci zatečeni raspuštanjem njihovog ogranka, Bernardić jedini glasao protiv". tportal.hr. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ http://www.vijesti.rtl.hr/novosti/1948137/splitski-gradonacelnik-ivo-baldasar-iz-sdp-a-prelazi-u-bandicevu-stranku/