Ivan Hribar (19 September 1851 – 18 April 1941) was a Slovene and Yugoslav

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

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. During the start of the 20th century, he was one of the leaders of the National Progressive Party, and one of the most important figures of Slovene

liberal nationalism Civic nationalism, also known as liberal nationalism, is a form of nationalism identified by political philosophers who believe in an inclusive form of nationalism that adheres to traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, in ...

. Between 1896 and 1910, he was the mayor of

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

(nowadays the capital of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

), and greatly contributed to its rebuilding and modernisation after the 1895 earthquake.

In Austria-Hungary

Ivan Hribar was born in the Carniolan town of

Trzin Trzin ( or ; german: link=no, Tersain''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 30.) is a town in the eastern part of the Upper Carniola regi ...

in what was then the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

(now in

). He studied law at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, and made a professional career as the representative of a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

bank in

between 1876 and 1919. In the 1880s he became involved in politics, soon emerging as one of the leading figures of the Slovene

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liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Together with his close political ally

Ivan Tavčar Ivan Tavčar () (28 August 1851 – 19 February 1923) was a Slovenian writer, lawyer, and politician. Biography Tavčar was born into the poor peasant family of Janez and Neža née Perko in the Carniolan village of Poljane near Škofja Loka ...

he founded the National Party of Carniola, later renamed to National Progressive Party. From 1882 he served as city councillor of

Laibach Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue ...

. In 1896 he was elected mayor of Ljubljana and became famous for implementing a large scale reconstruction of the town after the

Ljubljana earthquake An earthquake struck Ljubljana, the capital and largest city of Carniola, a crown land of Austria-Hungary and the capital of modern-day Slovenia, on Easter Sunday, 14 April 1895. It was the most, and the last, destructive earthquake in the ar ...

of 1895. He invited the architect

Max Fabiani Maximilian Fabiani, commonly known as Max Fabiani ( it, Massimo, sl, Maks) (29 April 1865 – 12 August 1962) was a cosmopolitan trilingual architect and town planner of mixed Italian-Austrian ancestry, born in the village of Kobdilj near Š ...

to make a new

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plan for the town. This included the complete renovation of

Prešeren Square Prešeren Square ( sl, Prešernov trg) is the central square in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is part of the old town's pedestrian zone and a major meeting point where festivals (like the annual Ljubljana Dragon Carnival), concerts, sports ...

and the area around the

Triple Bridge The Triple Bridge ( sl, Tromostovje, in older sources also ''Tromostje'') is a group of three bridges across the Ljubljanica River. It connects Ljubljana's historical medieval town on one bank and the modern city of Ljubljana, the capital of Slov ...

(the

Kresija Palace The Kresija Building ( sl, palača Kresija) is a building that together with Philip Mansion marks the entrance to the old town of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It stands at the Adamič and Lunder Embankment () on the right bank of the river L ...

and the Philip Mansion), as well as the construction of the Dragon Bridge: all of these buildings are nowadays considered as central symbols of Ljubljana. Hribar's aim was to transform Ljubljana into a prestigious centre of all

Slovene Lands The Slovene lands or Slovenian lands ( sl, Slovenske dežele or in short ) is the historical denomination for the territories in Central and Southern Europe where people primarily spoke Slovene. The Slovene lands were part of the Illyrian provin ...

and thus create a cultural and economic capital for the

Slovenian people The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...

. He carried out a radical modernization of the city's infrastructure, including

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

and the introduction of

trams A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

. He also cleaned up the city's public finances. During his time in office Hribar often clashed with the

ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

minority of Ljubljana on a number of issues. He remained in office until 1910, when the Emperor Franz Joseph I refused to confirm his reelection, because of his alleged role in anti-German riots two years earlier, in which two Slovenian students were shot by the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. He was succeeded by

. Between 1889 and 1908, he served as member of the Carniolan Provincial Diet, and between 1907 and 1911 as member of the

Austrian Parliament The Austrian Parliament (german: Österreichisches Parlament) is the bicameral federal legislature of the Austrian Republic. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene ...

. During his political activity in Austria-Hungary, Hribar was a great supporter of collaboration between Slovenes and other

Slavic peoples Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic language, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout ...

, especially

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, c ...

. He made many efforts to bring

investments to the

and he helped to establish several institutions on the Czech model, most famously the

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a so ...

athletic association. He is also said to have based the reconstruction of Ljubljana so that the town would resemble

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Due to his Panslavic ideas, he was imprisoned twice during

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, between August and December 1914 and between January and March 1915. Between April 1915 and June 1917, he was placed in house arrest in an estate in

Land Salzburg Salzburg (, ; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) (also known as ''Salzburgerland'') is a state (''Land'') of the modern Republic of Austria. It is officially named ''Land Salzburg'' to distinguish it from its eponymous capital — the city of S ...

, far from his homeland, in order to isolate him from his potential political allies. Together with

Mihajlo Rostohar Mihajlo Rostohar (July 30, 1878 – August 5, 1966) was a Slovenian psychologist, author and educator, who played an important role during the creation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Together with Ivan Hribar and Danilo Majaron, he ...

, Hribar also played an important role in the establishment of the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

In the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

After the end of

and the establishment of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

, he withdrew from party politics, although he remained active in public life. Between 1919 and 1921, he served as the Yugoslav

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under th ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. In 1921 he was appointed provisional representative of the Yugoslav central government in Slovenia, a post he held until the implementation of the new

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in 1923. As a staunch advocate of Yugoslav

nation building Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. According to ...

, he supported the centralist dictatorship of King Alexander. In 1932 he was appointed

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by the king and remained one until 1938 when he retired. In the late 1930s he voiced his support for a common political platform of all patriotic anti-fascist forces. In 1940, after

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

Invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...

, he became one of the founders of the "Association of Friends of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

," which served as one of the rallying grounds for the later development of the

Liberation Front of the Slovenian People The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation ( sl, Osvobodilna fronta slovenskega naroda), or simply Liberation Front (''Osvobodilna fronta'', OF), originally called the Anti-Imperialist Front (''Protiimperialistična fronta'', PIF), was a Slovene ...

After the Italian annexation of Ljubljana

Hribar was known as a passionate politician and a great Slovene and Yugoslav patriot. After the

Axis invasion of Yugoslavia An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

in 1941, Hribar committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

(at the age of eighty-nine) as a protest against the Italian annexation of Ljubljana. On 18 April, after returning home from a meeting with the Fascist Italian authorities, which had just offered him the mayorship of the city, he jumped into the

Ljubljanica The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Sava'', is a river in the southern part of the Ljubljana Basin in Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, lies on the river. The Ljubljanica rises south of the town of Vrhnika and flow ...

River, wrapped in the Yugoslav flag. He left a note with the verses from

France Prešeren France Prešeren () (2 or 3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages.

's poem ''

The Baptism on the Savica ''The Baptism on the Savica'' ( sl, Krst pri Savici) is a long two-part epic- lyric poem written by the Slovene Romantic poet France Prešeren. According to the literary historian Marko Juvan, the work may be considered the Slovene national e ...

'':

''Manj strašna noč je v črne zemlje krili'',
''kot so pod svetlim soncem sužnji dnovi''.

Less fearful the long night of life’s denial
Than living ‘neath the sun in subjugation!

Tributes

After World War II, the embankment of Ljubljanica from which Ivan Hribar jumped into the river was named after him. On 30 August 2010, a monument to Hribar was unveiled on the Hribar Embankment ( sl, Hribarjevo nabrežje), next to the Shoemakers' Bridge (), not far from the place of his death. The monument was created by the Bosnian Slovenian sculptor Mirsad Begić.

References

Sources

*Zvonko Bergant, ''Slovenski klasični liberalizem'' (Ljubljana: Nova revija, 2000). *

Igor Grdina Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling ...

, ''Slovenci med tradicijo in perspektivo: politični mozaik 1860-1918'' (Ljubljana: Študentska založba, 2003). *Janez Kajzer, ''S tramovi posprto mesto'' (Ljubljana: Mihelač, 1995). *Vasilij Melik, "Ivan Hribar in njegovi Spomini", in Ivan Hribar, ''Moji spomini'' (ed. Vasilij Melik) (Ljubljana:

Slovenska matica The Slovene Society ( sl, Slovenska matica,The name Matica can be literally translated into English as the "Queen Bee," which is a metaphor meaning "the parent body of the Slovenes." also ) is the second-oldest publishing house in Slovenia, found ...