j`män), 1922–99, Croatian nationalist leader, first president of independent Croatia (1991–99). He joined Tito Tito, Josip Broz , 1892–1980, Yugoslav Communist leader, marshal of Yugoslavia. He was originally Josip Broz.
Rise to PowerThe son of a blacksmith in a Croatian village, Tito fought in Russia with the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I and
..... Click the link for more information. 's Partisans in 1941 and after World War II rose to the rank of major general (1960) in the Yugoslav army. A history professor at Zagreb Univ. from 1963, he lost his post and his Communist party membership in 1967 because of his Croatian nationalism, which also led to his imprisonment in 1972–74 and 1981–84. Founding the Croatian Democrat Union in 1990 as Yugoslavia began to disintegrate, he became president of Croatia in 1990 and led the constituent republic to independence in 1991. He was reelected president in 1992 and 1997. His rule became increasingly autocratic over time, and his second reelection was criticized as not fair because of government control of the media. He died in office, having been declared incapacitated several weeks before his death and replaced by Acting President Vlatko Pavletic.
Tudjman, Franjo
(born May 14, 1922, Veliko Trgovisce, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes—died Dec. 10, 1999, Zagreb, Cro.) Croatian politician and president of Croatia (1990–99). He served with the partisans under Marshal Tito in World War II. He taught political science and history at the University of Zagreb (1963–67) and later wrote numerous books on history and politics. He was expelled from the Yugoslav Communist Party in 1967 for his nationalist writings, and he was imprisoned in 1972 and 1981. In 1989 Tudjman founded the Croatian Democratic Union, which won Croatia's first free parliamentary elections in 1990. Named president, he pressed for the creation of a homogenous Croatian state. When Serbian areas of Eastern and Western Slavonia and the Krajina revolted, they were occupied by the Yugoslav army. Beginning in 1995, Tudjman reasserted control over these areas and established virtual control over portions of Bosnia and Herzegovina with majority Croatian populations. His authoritarian style, along with his refusal to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, led to the international isolation of Croatia, and his excesses in the Bosnian conflict and his autocratic rule earned Tudjman a reputation for brutality.
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