Ante Bruno Bušić (6 October 1939 – 16 October 1978) was a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n writer and critic of the government of

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. He was one of the best-known victims of

UDBA The State Security Service, also known by its original name as the Directorate for State Security, was the secret police organization of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Communist Yugoslavia. It was at all times best known by the acrony ...

(Yugoslav

secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

) killings.

Biography

Bušić was born in the village of Vinjani Donji near

Imotski Imotski () is a small town on the northeastern side of the Biokovo massif in the Dalmatian Hinterland of southern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The town has a generally mild Mediterranean climate which makes it a popular ...

. By the time he enrolled into high school in Imotski, he was already involved in activities which communist authorities considered rebellious. In 1957, he joined a group called Tiho (''silently'', lit. - ''quietly'') whose aim was to "fight for freedom, equality and the formation of a free Croatia based on democratic principles". It was at that time that the

(Yugoslav

) began watching him. Bušić, along with his schoolmates who had also participated in Tiho, was expelled from school soon after. Two years later, the expelled students were allowed to return to school. Bušić went on to enroll in the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

and earned a degree in economics in 1964. The following year, he got a job at the Institute for the History of the Workers' Movement in Croatia, which was run by former Yugoslav general and future Croatian president

Franjo Tuđman Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...

. In 1966, he was sentenced to prison for his political views, but he had escaped to

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

during the trial with co-convict

Rudolf Arapović Rudolf Arapović (December 8, 1937 – August 3, 2007) was a Croatian writer and dissident who was born in the Central Bosnian town of Busovača and died near Samobor. Biography As a young child, he found himself in the Bleiburg Tragedy, w ...

. At the behest of Tuđman, who still had great influence in Yugoslavia, Bušić returned to Zagreb and was not sent to prison. In 1967, he resumed work at the Institute. In 1969, Bušić moved on to write for the ''Hrvatski književni list'' (''Croatian Literary Paper''). There he confronted several issues considered controversial by Yugoslav officials. The paper was eventually banned. This led Bušić to emigrate to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for a period of time during which he attended the Sorbonne. Upon his return in 1971, he became one of directors of the ''Hrvatski tjednik'' (''Croatian Weekly''). That same year the Yugoslav government issued a crackdown on what had been called the

Croatian Spring The Croatian Spring (), or Maspok, was a political conflict that took place from 1967 to 1971 in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, at the time part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As one of six republics comprising Yugoslavi ...

(''Hrvatsko proljeće''). Bušić was among those arrested and spent time in prison until 1973. He left Yugoslavia for the last time in 1975. He spent most of the time afterwards living in England, but travelled extensively through the rest of Europe. He wrote for '' Nova Hrvatska'' (''New Croatia'') during this period. He was killed in Paris, France, in 1978. While it is suspected that an agent of the

, the Yugoslav secret police, may have been involved, the identity of the killer remains unknown. Exactly 21 years after his death, with Croatia having gained independence, his remains were moved from Paris to the

Mirogoj cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, ), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery (), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members of all religious groups: Catholic, Orthodox, M ...

in Zagreb and laid to rest next to the dead of the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

. Vinko Sindičić, a former UDBA agent, was prosecuted for the murder of Bušić. He was found not guilty in 2000. On 6 June 2005, Supreme Court of Croatia upheld the verdict.

Honours

Order of Duke Domagoj The Order of Duke Domagoj () is the 8th most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia and is the nation's highest award for bravery. The order was founded on April 1, 1995. The medal is awarded for valor in combat. It is named after duke ...

1995 (posthumously) * Order of Stjepan Radic

Order of Stjepan Radić The Order of Stjepan Radić () is a Croatian national decoration which ranks thirteenth in importance. The order was formed on 1 April 1995. The Order of Stjepan Radić is granted to Croatians and foreigners for services and sacrifices for the na ...

1995 (posthumously)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Busic, Bruno 1939 births 1978 deaths Assassinated Croatian journalists Croatian people murdered abroad People murdered in Paris People from Imotski Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb alumni University of Paris alumni Croatian anti-communists Croatian dissidents Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Order of Ante Starčević recipients Yugoslav dissidents Assassinated Yugoslav people 20th-century Croatian journalists Yugoslav expatriates in France People murdered in 1978 People killed in Yugoslav intelligence operations