Ivo Pukanić (21 January 1961 – 23 October 2008) was a

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 ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. He was best known as

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the once influential Croatian political weekly ''

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

''. In 2008, Pukanić was assassinated by members of Croatian and Serbian organized crime groups.

Life and career

Pukanić was born in

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 graduated from the Faculty of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at 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 ...

in 1983, after which he started working for

Vjesnik ''Vjesnik'' () was a Croatian state-owned daily newspaper published in Zagreb which ceased publication in April 2012. Originally established in 1940 as a wartime illegal publication of the Communist Party of Croatia, it later built and maintained ...

publishing house as a

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

for two of their weekly

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s, ''Start'' and ''Studio''. In 1992 he started his career as a journalist and editor at the popular weekly ''

Globus Globus is Latin for ''sphere'' or ''globe''. It may also refer to: Business * Globus Medical, a medical device company in Audubon, PA * Globus (clothing retailer), an Indian clothing retail store * Globus (company), a Swiss department store chai ...

'' published by

Europapress Holding Hanza Media (until July 1, 2016: Europapress Holding, or EPH) is the leading media company in Croatia and Southeast Europe, with 5 daily newspapers, more than 20 magazines, and 20 digital editions. Hanza Media's consumer magazines are aimed at t ...

. He left ''Globus'' only three years later in 1995 to start his own weekly publication, ''

'', where he held the post of editor-in-chief until 2000. That same year Pukanić received an award from

Croatian Journalists' Association The Croatian Journalists' Association ( hr, Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo or HND) is a Croatian association based in Zagreb aimed at promoting freedom of the press and free speech in journalism. The association was founded in December 1910 and ha ...

. He also later received an award for a 2003 interview with army general

Ante Gotovina Ante Gotovina (born 12 October 1955) is a Croatian retired lieutenant general and former French senior corporal who served in the Croatian War for Independence. He is noted for his primary role in the 1995 Operation Storm. In 2001, the Intern ...

, who was at the time on the run due to accusations of war crimes by the

ICTY The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

Assassination

Pukanić was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

on October 23, 2008, at 6.10 p.m.

local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...

by a

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

planted on a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

parked next to his Lexus LS600hL in the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, the capital of

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 ...

. He was killed alongside Niko Franjić, the ''Nacional'' marketing manager. The incident happened in Stara Vlaška Street, only two street blocks east of

Ban Jelačić Square Ban Jelačić Square (; hr, Trg bana Jelačića) is the central square of the city of Zagreb, Croatia, named after Ban Josip Jelačić. The official name is Trg bana Jelačića. The square is colloquially called ''Jelačić plac''. It is locate ...

, the central square of Zagreb. It was caught on

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

, with the footage showing the explosion moments before Pukanić and Franjić were about to enter the vehicle. ''Nacional'' reporter Plamenko Cvitić was the first news reporter on the scene. The police immediately blocked the traffic around the site of assassination, causing immense traffic jams all over the city center. Prime Minister

Ivo Sanader Ivo Sanader (born 8 June 1953) is a former Croatian politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009. He is to date the second longest-serving prime minister since independence, holding the office for over five and a half yea ...

declined a proposal for entering a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

.Special report on Nova TV (October 23, 2008) Eight people, suspected of having connections to organised crime groups, were indicted. Six were later convicted over Pukanić's murder with prison terms ranging from 15 to 40 years. Pukanić was survived by his wife, Mirjana, and daughter, Sara (born c. 1991).

References

External links

Killing the Journalist or: Sreten Jocic alias Joca Amsterdam – The bloody journey of a Mafia boss across Europe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pukanic, Ivo 1961 births 2008 deaths Assassinated newspaper editors Journalists from Zagreb Investigative journalists Deaths by car bomb Assassinated Croatian journalists People murdered in Croatia People murdered by Serbian organized crime Filmed assassinations Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni 2008 crimes in Croatia 2008 murders in Europe 2000s murders in Croatia 20th-century journalists