Branko Mikulić

Infobox Person
name = Branko Mikulić


birth_date = June 10, 1928
birth_place = Bugojno, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
death_date = death date and age|1994|4|12|1928|06|10
death_place = Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Branko Mikulić (June 10, 1928 - April 12, 1994) was a communist politician and statesman in the Yugoslavia. Mikulić was one of the leading communist politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the communist rule in the former Yugoslavia.

Biography

Branko Mikulić was born to a Croat family in 1928 in the vicinity of Bugojno, 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 of People's Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ZAVNOBiH).

Political activity

As a young and ambitious party leader, after studying in Zagreb he returned to his birthplace to become a full-time politician. He became a deputy for Bugojno, a deputy for the West Bosnian district, and in 1965 secretary of the Bosnian Communist party’s central committee - before being elected its president a year later.

Though Bosnia and Herzegovina was considered a political backwater of the Yugoslav federation for much of the 1950s and '60s, the 1970s saw the ascension of a strong Bosnian political élite.

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 Herzegovinian Croats into the political system. Meanwhile western Herzegovina enjoyed economic regeneration during the Mikulić's rule

While working within the communist system, politicians that included Branko 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.

In 1986 Mikulić was appointed Yugoslav prime minister. His intention was to reduce inflation by 90%, but Yugoslavia began its disintegration in late 1980s. Mikulić resigned his post on 16 March 1989 and returned to Sarajevo. He died quietly in April 1994 during the Siege of Sarajevo.

External links

* [http://www.bosnia.org.uk/bosrep/report_format.cfm?articleid=3058&reportid=170 Branko Mikulic - socialist emperor manqué]
* [http://www.nwbih.com/news.cgi?ref1=1 Nesuđeni socijalistički car]