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Tomislav Jakić (born 23 March 1943,
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 ...
) is 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 ...
n journalist, TV reporter and former advisor to the 2nd Croatian president
Stjepan Mesić Stjepan "Stipe" Mesić (; born 24 December 1934) is a Croatian lawyer and politician who served as President of Croatia from 2000 to 2010. Before serving two five-year terms as president, he was prime minister of SR Croatia (1990) after the fir ...
.


Early years

Tomislav Jakić was born on 23 March 1943 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 ...
,
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. His father was a state clerk and his mother was a teacher of German language. He spent his early life in Zagreb and graduated from the
Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb The Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb ( hr, Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis, Facultas Iuridica, PFZG) is the law school of the University of Zagreb. Founded in 1776 by Empress Maria Theres ...
. Before graduating from his faculty, he decided to enter TV journalism and in 1966 he joined the
Yugoslav Radio Television Yugoslav Radio Television (''Jugoslavenska radiotelevizija''/Југославенска радиотелевизија or ''Jugoslavenska radio-televizija''/Југославенска радио-телевизија; JRT/ЈРТ) was the national ...
(JRT). At first, he worked as a small-time reporter but gradually he became a TV anchor and later a foreign policy reporter. One of his first assignments was a report about the
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
in 1973 when he travelled to
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and was amongst the first foreign TV news crews to enter
Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
. In the 1980s he went on a journalist seminar in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and was the first foreign TV reporter to enter a
NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
underground base in the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
. In 1979, he managed to negotiate in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
the opportunity of closely reporting the signing of the
SALT II The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms control in two rounds of ta ...
agreement which was supposed to be reserved only for American and
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
TV crews but Jakić managed to include the Yugoslav crew as well. Due to his excellent knowledge of the German language, he was a regular reporter from
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
and
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. Working as a reporter at JRT in the 1960s, Jakić refused to enter the
League of Communists of Croatia League of Communists of Croatia ( sh, Savez komunista Hrvatske or SKH) was the Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ). It came into power in 1945. Until 1952, it was known as Communist Party of Croatia (''Komunistička ...
which was not a common thing to do. It affected him in doing his job. He was banned from reporting on high-profile Yugoslav politicians (especially
Tito Tito may refer to: People Mononyms * Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman * Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...
) and he was removed from news cases that involved going out of the country. After a few years, he was allowed to do reports outside the country but he remained banned from Tito. Jakić was allowed to report on Tito only twice. Once he followed him in Austria and the second time in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. In the 1970s, Jakić was approached by the Yugoslav secret police
UDBA The State Security Service ( hr, Služba državne sigurnosti, sr, Служба државне безбедности; mk, Служба за државна безбедност; sl, Služba državne varnosti), also known by its original name ...
. He was asked to inform them about his trips abroad but he refused. For a while, he was under pressure but eventually they backed off him.


Later career

In the late 1980s, he became editor of the news programme at JRT. In 1990, after the first Croatian parliamentary election,
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 ...
came to power as president. Jakić was asked to be the main reporter on Tuđman's tour in the United States and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in autumn of that year. Jakić reported numerous incidents associated with
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...
supporters during that tour, including the one where Franjo Tuđman almost held a speech under a picture of
Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and served as dictator of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, l ...
in Canada. After his return from the tour, Jakić started witnessing the deterioration of his TV station which came under the rule of the new government and later renamed HRT. At first, all ethnic
Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
or mixed-marriage employees were fired and banned from entering the station. After that, any employees who didn't support Tuđman and the new regime were also fired and banned. Jakić was critical of the new right-wing regime. In 1992, he quit his job at HRT. In 1995 he moved to
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 ...
and started working for
Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
. He reported on Croatia and the
Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...
. He wrote articles about the Croatian war crimes in
Operation Storm }) was the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence and a major factor in the outcome of the Bosnian War. It was a decisive victory for the Croatian Army (HV), which attacked across a front against the self-declared proto-state R ...
. Soon later he returned to Croatia where for some time he wasn't able to find a job. At the time, he was invited by
Silvije Degen Silvije Degen (born 15 June 1942 in Bjelovar) is a Croatian lawyer and politician from Zagreb. Silvije Degen, a native of Zagreb, in 1980s became one of the best known lawyers in Yugoslavia. This was due to his impeccable fashion sense and tendenc ...
to join the
Social Democratic Action of Croatia Social Democratic Action of Croatia ( hr, Akcija socijaldemokrata Hrvatske or ASH) was a Croatian left-wing political party. It was founded by 1994 by members of Social Democratic Party of Croatia dissatisfied with the centrist policies of SDP l ...
where he became the party secretary for a couple of years. In 1999, he returned to TV for the last time. He was called in
Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
to become the TV director at ''Channel Rijeka'' which was under the control of the main opposition party, the
Social Democratic Party of Croatia The Social Democratic Party of Croatia ( hr, Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske, SDP) is a social-democratic political party in Croatia. The SDP is anti-fascist, progressive, and strongly pro-European. The SDP was formed in 1990 as the succe ...
. He organised the first live coverage of the traditional
Rijeka Carnival The Rijeka Carnival ( hr, Riječki karneval) is held each year before Lent (between late January and early March) in Rijeka, Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , ant ...
and organised the debate for the Croatian presidential election, 2000. In 2001, he resigned after his idea proposals were turned down.


Advisor to Stjepan Mesić

After Tuđman's death in 1999 and the victory of the liberal-left coalition in the
2000 Croatian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Croatia on 3 January 2000 to elect members of the Chamber of Representative. They were the first elections to be held after the expiration of a full four-year term of the previous Chamber of Representatives. Th ...
, Jakić tried to regain his old job at HRT but was offered only a job as TV director of the HRT
Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...
local branch. He turned the offer down. In 2000, he sent a job application to president Stjepan Mesić, who had won the presidential elections earlier that year. After some time and pressure, Jakić was accepted and became the president's advisor on foreign policy. He was not only his advisor but also wrote most of his speeches. Jakić was responsible for the buildup of new relations with the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
. He went to
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
in 2001 and signed a document which was the beginning of the bilateral relationship between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Croatia. After the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, Jakić and Mesić were strong supporters of an anti-terrorist global league. The idea never came to a true realisation. In 2002, Jakić wrote a speech for Stjepan Mesić in which he explicitly criticized the idea of a US-led military intervention in Iraq, upsetting the American diplomats. He was instrumental in Mesić's decision not to send Croatian troops to Iraq without UN approval. Jakić gave his resignation to president Mesić in 2003 and became a columnist for ''
Slobodna Dalmacija ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split. The first issue of ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' was published on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city ...
'', in which he wrote in a column called ''Parallels''. He wrote about foreign policy and the column lasted for about a year. He gave advice to Mesić for his
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
campaign, and after Mesić won the elections for his second term, Jakić returned to his old advisory job. During the second presidential term, there were two incidents. The first one was in December 2006 when a video circulated in the media where president Mesić gave a speech in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
during the early 1990s in which he appeared to glorify the Ustaše fascist movement. Mesić came under heavy public criticism. Jakić organised a fast response for the president, who later apologised in a live TV broadcast. The second incident was in 2008 when
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
announced his visit to Croatia. The protocol for welcoming foreign statesmen was always organised by the presidential office but the prime minister at the time,
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 ...
, took control and violated the protocol. In response, Jakić advised president Mesić to avoid welcoming Bush and suggested going on a tour of
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
as previously planned. Neither Jakić nor Mesić were fond of Bush coming to Croatia from the beginning. Mesić finally was forced to drop the idea of avoiding Bush and was part of the welcome protocol in Zagreb. Jakić was an organiser of the 2007 energy summit in Zagreb, where one of the guests was
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
. The plan was to bring the
South Stream South Stream (russian: Южный поток, Yuzhnyy potok; bg, Южен поток, Yuzhen potok; sr, / ; sl, Južni tok; hu, Déli Áramlat; it, Flusso Meridionale) was a canceled pipeline project to transport natural gas of the Russia ...
through Croatia but it was never realised. In 2010, president Mesić ended his second and final term as president. Jakić followed the president's footsteps and retired from politics. As of 2016, he is a columnist for '' Novosti'' and deals primarily with foreign policy. He published an autobiography in 2010 titled ''Nisam zavijao s vukovima'' (''I didn't howl with the wolves''). In 2017, Jakić signed the
Declaration on the Common Language The Declaration on the Common Language ( sh, Deklaracija o zajedničkom jeziku / ) was issued in 2017 by a group of intellectuals and NGOs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia who were working under the banner of a project ...
of the
Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...
,
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
,
Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...
and
Montenegrins Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Genetics Accordin ...
.Signatories of the Declaration on the Common Language
official website, retrieved on 2018-08-16.


References


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jakic, Tomislav 1943 births Living people Journalists from Zagreb Croatian television journalists Signatories of the Declaration on the Common Language