Dragutin Lesar (born 4 March 1956) is a retired
Croatian politician. Originally a union leader in the 1980s, he joined the liberal
Croatian People's Party (HNS) in 1996. As member of HNS he was elected to the
Croatian Parliament in the 2003 and 2007 general elections and served in the
5th
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
and
6th Sabor.
In April 2008 he resigned from HNS and continued to serve in the parliament as an
independent.
In April 2010 he founded the left wing
Croatian Labourists – Labour Party
The Croatian Labourists – Labour Party ( hr, Hrvatski laburisti - Stranka rada) is a social-democratic and democratic socialist political party in Croatia.
It was formed in 2010 by a former trade unionist and People's Party MP Dragutin Lesar ...
(HL) and became their first party president.
Early life
Dragutin Lesar was born on 4 March 1956 in village
Mačkovec near
Čakovec in
Socialist Republic of Croatia.
[Lesar, Dragutin]
Životopis Dragutina Lesara
Lesar.info. Retrieved 2011-10-29 He attended a primary school in Mačkovec, and later
Šenkovec
Šenkovec ( hu, Szentilona) is a municipalities of Croatia, municipality in Međimurje County, Croatia, located just outside the county seat, Čakovec.
The municipality includes two villages – Šenkovec and Knezovec. In the 2011 census, the tw ...
, where he moved in 1953.
[
Due to poor financial situation, his secondary education is that of a commercialist, despite his wishes to attend a gymnasium in Zagreb.][ His father died in 1972, after an accident at the workplace.][ Lesar sponsored his own education with various awards he received as an excellent student.][ After finishing high school in 1975, he worked at a number of places: a department store, a shoe store and an iron foundry in Čakovec.][ While working at the foundry he also studied sales management.
]
Trade union activity
He started his trade union activities in 1978 as a union representative.[ In 1980 he became secretary of the Čakovec Municipal Council of Trade Unions.][ He leaves the Municipal Council of Trade Unions because of the disagreement with local Communist Party officials.][ After that, he moved to ]Mursko Središće
Mursko Središće ( hu, Muraszerdahely, Kajkavian: ''Mursko Središče'') is the northernmost town in Croatia, located at ( alt. 175 m) and one of the oldest localities in Međimurje County.
Mursko Središće has a total population of 6,307, and ...
and employed in " Gorenje-Mural", an aluminium radiator factory, where he worked as a sales director.[ After that, he is employed in the iron foundry in Čakovec, where he conducts procurement operations and forms commercial service.][ In 1985 he joins again the trade union.][ He became secretary of the trade union in Čakovec by a tender.][ On his initiative, on 7 April 1990 "Union of Workers Employed in Private Sector" was founded.][ This union was later renamed "Croatian Union of Non-Industrial Workers and Private Employees".][
Since attempt of reformation of Union of Syndicates of Croatia failed in 1990, Lesar, Vesna Dejanović, Ivan Miletić and Milan Krivokuća founded Union of Independent Syndicates of Croatia ( hr, Savez samostalnih sindikata Hrvatska) at the end of 1990.][ In January 1991 Lesar became president of SSSH.][ From January 1991 until March 1996 he performed this duty, when he resigned and joined PPDIV Syndicate.][
]
Political career
In autumn of 1996, he contacted Radimir Čačić, Srećko Bijelić, Savka Dabčević-Kučar
Savka Dabčević-Kučar (6 December 1923 – 6 August 2009) was a Croatian politician. She was one of the most influential Croatian female politicians during the communist period, especially during the Croatian Spring when she was deposed. Sh ...
and Dragutin Haramija
Dragutin Haramija (12 August 1923 – 28 November 2012) was a Croatian communist politician who served as mayor of Rijeka, then the president of the Executive Council of the Socialist Republic of Croatia
The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-L ...
and joined Croatian People's Party (HNS), and few months later he became the party's vice-president[ and worked so in the party for next 12 years.][ During the local elections in 1997 he was holder of the list for Međimurje County and candidate for House of Counties of Croatian ''Sabor''.][ His rivals were ]Franjo Tuđman
Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...
, Ivica Račan
Ivica Račan (; 24 February 1944 – 29 April 2007) was a Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2000 to 2003, heading two centre-left coalition governments.
Račan became the first prime minister of Croatia not to be a ...
, Vlado Gotovac
Vladimir "Vlado" Gotovac (18 September 1930 – 7 December 2000) was a Croatian poet and politician.
Early activism
In the late 1960s, Gotovac joined the Croatian movement demanding political and economic reform, which eventually led to the Cro ...
and Drago Stipac
Drago may refer to:
People
* Drago (given name)
* Drago (surname)
* Drago (wrestler), Mexican professional wrestler Víctor Soto
* Drago Dumbovic, Croatian footballer known simply as Drago
* Drago, nickname of Alexander Volkov
* Prince del Drag ...
.[ He won 14.66% of votes and thus he did not enter the ''Sabor'', but he did succeed in winning 5 seats for County Assembly and made a coalition with Croatian Social Liberal Party and Croatian Peasant Party and thus removed ]Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union ( hr, Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, lit=Croatian Democratic Community, HDZ) is the major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croa ...
from ruling role.[ Lesar became prefect's deputy. During 2000, Međimurje County Assembly accepts Lesar's proposal for foundation of Međimurje solidarity foundation "Katruža", and he becomes the manager of the foundation.][ On local elections in 2001 he won 6 seats and formed the same coalition and again becomes prefect's deputy.][
During the Croatian parliamentary elections of 2003, Lesar was the top-ranked candidate of the electoral list of HNS for the 3rd Electoral District. HNS won 2 seats, so Lesar entered in '' Sabor'' along with Radimir Čačić. During the parliamentary elections of 2007 he again became member of the parliament, but due to conflict with newly elected president of the HNS Radimir Čačić, he left HNS and acted as independent member of parliament since April 2008.][
On 31 March 2010 Lesar founded ]Croatian Labourists – Labour Party
The Croatian Labourists – Labour Party ( hr, Hrvatski laburisti - Stranka rada) is a social-democratic and democratic socialist political party in Croatia.
It was formed in 2010 by a former trade unionist and People's Party MP Dragutin Lesar ...
and became its president. He competed in the 2011 Croatian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on Sunday, 4 December 2011 to elect 151 members to the Croatian Parliament. They were the sixth parliamentary election in Croatia since independence.
Elections were held in 10 electoral districts insid ...
and won six seats in parliament. He resigned as party president in May 2014 after losing a seat in the European elections 2014. After his term in the Croatian parliament ended in September 2015, he announced his retirement from politics.
Personal life
In 1977 he married Anica, who gave birth to their son, Igor, the same year. In 1984, they got a daughter, Maja.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesar, Dragutin
Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament
People from Čakovec
Living people
1956 births
Croatian Labourists – Labour Party politicians
Croatian People's Party – Liberal Democrats politicians