Anto Đapić

Anto Đapić (born 22 August 1958) is a retired Croatian right-wing politician and the former president of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP). He served as a Representative in the Croatian Parliament, a post he was elected to at the 1992, 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2007 elections.

Early life

Đapić was born in Čaprazlije, Livno municipality, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia (now in Bosnia and Herzegovina). The Đapić family had a history of supporting the old Croatian Party of Rights, and later the Ustaše regime. His father and uncles chose to go to West Germany on permanent work instead of living in Yugoslavia, but Anto, his mother and brother lived in Osijek since 1962. Đapić considers Osijek to be his hometown. Đapić lost his mother in a car crash when he was a teenager, so he had to do manual labour while studying law at Osijek University. Đapić obtained a law degree in 1989.

Political career

In 1989, Đapić first joined Franjo Tuđman's Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). He was one of the party's organizers in Osijek, but he left it after short time. In 1991, he joined the Croatian Party of Right (HSP), which was renewed year earlier. After the assassination of Ante Paradžik, he was named party's Vice President. Đapić was also for short period of time a commander of voluntary military units called HOS (Hrvatske Obrambene Snage - Croatian Defence Forces), which were organized by Croatian Party of Right. They wore black uniforms like the Black Legion of the Ustaše army, and fought in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Later the HOS was merged with the Croatian Army (in Croatia) and the Croatian Defense Council (in Bosnia). In 1993, Đapić was named president of HSP. Previous president Dobroslav Paraga claimed Đapić was elected illegally, and he later formed the new party Croatian Party of Right 1861, which has failed at each parliamentary election since 1993. Đapić was less critical of President Tuđman and HDZ then Paraga, and he was considered to be their satellite.

In the 1995 election, HSP won 4.8% of vote, but after a recount, 5.01% was claimed to be official result, which meant that HSP remained represented in Parliament. With war being over the party took more and more criticism for its neo-ustaša views. However, HSP led by Đapić maintained small but solid support among the voters. In 2000, this time in coalition with Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU), HSP kept four Parliament seats. Đapić led a presidential campaign the same year, finishing a distant fifth. Since then, he and his party endeavoured to change their perception among voters. HSP continues to oppose the existence of the Hague War Crimes Tribunal, to hold eurosceptic views and is socially very conservative. Đapić likened the possible legal recognition of same-sex marriages to "Sodom and Gomorrah".

In June 2005, Đapić became mayor of Osijek, but he lost this position in 2009. In late 2009, the HSP split yet again. A new party, "Hrvatska stranka prava Dr. Ante Starčević", with Ruža Tomašić as party leader was formed. The party's leadership accused Đapić for the weakening of HSP's standing in the Sabor. Đapić was replaced as the president of the party at the November 2009 convention by Daniel Srb. In December 2011 Đapić announced his retirement from politics.

Đapić is married with one daughter.