Sabor

Sabor 

(Serbo-Croatian), a representative body in several South Slavic nations.

In Croatia, the Sabor was first convoked in 1273, in the northern part of the country. Beginning in the 16th century, it was an all-Croatian institution; it existed until December 1918. The Sabor included representatives of the nobility, gentry, clergy, and free royal cities; its presiding officer was the ban of Croatia. The Sabor dealt with questions of domestic policy.

In 1848 the Sabor called for the separation of Croatia and Slavonia from the Kingdom of Hungary and a federated Haps-burg Empire. After 1848 the Sabor was no longer an institution of the Croatian estates; that is, heads of peasant households were permitted to cast votes in indirect, two-tiered elections to the Sabor. The Croatian-Hungarian Agreement of 1868 gave the Sabor limited legislative functions in administration, education, and judicial and ecclesiastical matters; the Sabor also received the right to vote on its own budget. Decisions of the Sabor had to be confirmed by the Austrian emperor. In 1870, 6–7 percent of the male population of Croatia had the right to vote in elections to the Sabor, and in 1910 approximately 30 percent.

In Dalmatia, the Sabor was created in 1861. The Croatian and Serbian liberals obtained a majority in the Sabor of 1870 as a result of the struggle against the Italian bourgeoisie and bureaucracy. The Sabor in Dalmatia was abolished on Dec. 1, 1918.

The parliament of the Socialist Republic of Croatia is called the Sabor.