Blaž Lorković (; 29 January 1839 – 17 February 1892) was a Croatian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, considered to be the founder of Croatian

political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

. Due to his contributions,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

named its

Order of Danica Hrvatska The Order of Danica Hrvatska ( hr, Red Danice hrvatske; lit. "Order of the Croatian Morning Star") is the fourteenth most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on 1 April 1995. The medal is awarded for different p ...

for business and economics after him.

Biography

Lorković was born in Jarče Polje near

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...

to a rural family, the only child of Pavao and Julka Lorković. In 1851, he attended high school in

Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...

, where he was noticed and in 1854, with the help and persuasion of his uncle, the parish priest in the village

Rasinja Rasinja is a settlement and an eponymous municipality in northern Croatia in Koprivnica–Križevci County, located halfway between Koprivnica and Ludbreg. Population The municipality's total population is 3,267 (2011 census), in the following ...

near

Koprivnica Koprivnica () is a city in Northern Croatia, located 70 kilometers northeast of Zagreb. It is the capital and the largest city of the Koprivnica-Križevci county. In 2011, the city's administrative area of 90.94 km2 had a total popu ...

, he moved to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. He was located at the Episcopal orphanage. After completing high school education in October 1857, Lorković turned to the clergy and entered the archdiocesan

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

, deciding to answer the vocational call to the priesthood to satisfy his parents and uncle. During his time in seminary, he edited literary magazines and fought against

Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...

. He left the seminary on 17 February 1862. In October 1863, he entered as a regular student into the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

's Faculty of Law. He passed all the exams in regular period with highest grades. In July 1867, Lorković successfully finished his four-year law degree. On 16 December 1871, Lorković became a teacher at the Royal Juridical Academy. He replaced his belletristic work with scientific and educational at the Juridical Academy and similar associations. The most important of Lorković's scientific work is ''Počela političke ekonomije ili nauke obćega gospodarstva'', which was published by

Matica hrvatska Matica hrvatska ( la, Matrix Croatica) is the oldest independent, non-profit and non-governmental Croatian national institution. It was founded on February 2, 1842 by the Croatian Count Janko Drašković and other prominent members of the Illyri ...

in 1889 in the context of a series of publications for Croatian dealers. He served as a rector of the

in the academic year 1883/1884. He died in

in 1892. He is buried at

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, hr, Gradsko groblje Mirogoj), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery ( hr, Groblje Mirogoj), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members o ...

. His son Ivan Lorković and grandson

Mladen Lorković Mladen Lorković (1 March 1909 – April 1945) was a Croatian politician and lawyer who became a senior member of the Ustaše and served as the Foreign Minister and Minister of Interior of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World ...

became influential politicians in their own right.

Work

Scientific works: * ''Foundations of Political Economy or the Science of General Economics'' ( hr, Počela političke ekonomije ili nauke obćega gospodarstva) * ''Discourses on the National Economy'' ( hr, Razgovori o narodnom gospodarstvu) * ''What the Economic Condition of Croatia in the 18th Century Was, Which of These Ideas of National Economy Prevailed, and Who the Defenders of Those Ideas Were'' ( hr, Kakvo bijaše gospodarsko stanje Hrvatske u 18. stoljeću, kakove su narodno-gospodarske ideje tada vladale i kakvi bijahu zastupnici tih ideja, report) * ''The Current Condition of Economic Science'' ( hr, Sadanje stanje gospodarske nauke, report) * ''Women in the Home and in Society'' ( hr, Žena u kući i u družtvu) He published his literary works in popular magazines ''

Vienac ''Vijenac'' (English: '' The Wreath'') is a biweekly magazine for literature, art and science, established in December 1993 and published by ''Matica hrvatska'', the central national cultural institution in Croatia. Historical background The ...

'' and ''Naše gore list'': * ''Love and Faith'' ( hr, Ljubav i vjernost, short story) * ''Several Secret Little Papers'' ( hr, Nekoliko tajnih listića, short story) * ''The Blind Man'' ( hr, Sliepac, novella) * ''Infidelity'' ( hr, Nevjera, short story) * ''Traveling Occasions and Mishaps'' ( hr, Putne sgode i nesgode, itinerary) * ''The Dance'' hr, Ples, novella) * ''Under the Pear Tree'' ( hr, Pod kruškom, novella) * ''Exceptions'' ( hr, Iznimke, short story) * ''The Mediator'' ( hr, Posrednik, short story) * ''Easter Eggs'' ( hr, Pisanice, short story) * ''Too Late'' ( hr, Prekasno, short story) * ''Convicted Vanity'' ( hr, Kažnjena taština) * ''Field on the Sea'' ( hr, Mejdan na moru, novella) * ''Confession'' ( hr, Izpoviest, novel) * ''Father and Daughter'' ( hr, Otac i kći, short story) * ''Past and Present'' ( hr, Prošlost i sadašnjost) * ''Croats and Serbs'' ( hr, Hrvati i Srbi, article)

Notes

References

Lorković's biography
at the University of Zagreb website
Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorkovic, Blaz 1839 births 1892 deaths People from Netretić 19th-century Croatian economists Croatian lawyers Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb alumni Rectors of the University of Zagreb Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Economists from Austria-Hungary Lawyers from Austria-Hungary Rectors of universities in Austria-Hungary 19th-century lawyers