Quick Facts
Biography
Ivan Ribar ([ǐvan rîbaːr]; 21 January 1881 – 2 February 1968) was a Yugoslav politician and soldier of Croatian descent.
Biography
Ribar was born in Vukmanić (part of Karlovac) and held a PhD in law. He worked as an attorney in Zagreb, Đakovo and Belgrade.
In politics, he was:
- President of the Royal Parliamentary Assembly, 1920–22
- President of Executive Committee, Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia, 26 October 1942 – 4 December 1943
- Chairman of the Presidium of the Provisional People's Assembly, 4 December 1943 – 5 March 1945
- Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly, 29 December 1945 – 14 January 1953
From the proclamation of a republic in 1945 until 1953, Ribar was the de jure head of state of Yugoslavia; his chairman's post was equivalent to that of president. In 1953, Communist Party leader and Prime Minister Josip Broz Tito, the country's de facto leader since 1945, was elected to the new post of President of the Republic.
Ribar lost his entire family during World War II: his two sons, Jurica and Ivo, and his wife, Antonija. Both Jurica and Ivo were killed in action in 1943 fighting for the Partisans, while Ribar's wife was executed by the Germans in 1944. Ivo Lola Ribar, his younger son, was in charge of the Young Communist League of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) during the war, and was proclaimed posthumously a People's Hero of Yugoslavia.
Death
Ivan Ribar spent his last years in Zagreb, where he died in 1968, aged 87.