Vinko "Vice" Vukov (3 August 1936 – 24 September 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 ...

n singer and politician.

Biography

Vukov was born in

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

. In 1959, he achieved instant fame by winning the Opatija Music Festival in his singing debut, with the song "Mirno teku rijeke" (). During the 1960s, he was one of the most popular singers in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, appearing at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1963 The Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was the eighth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in London, United Kingdom. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporatio ...

with the song " Brodovi" () and at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1965 The Eurovision Song Contest 1965 was the tenth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Naples, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "Non ho l'età" by Gigliola Cinquetti. Organised by the European ...

with the song " Čežnja" (). In the aftermath of the 1971

Croatian Spring The Croatian Spring ( hr, Hrvatsko proljeće), 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 republic ...

movement, he was branded a

Croatian nationalist Croatian nationalism is nationalism that asserts the nationality of Croats and promotes the cultural unity of Croats. Modern Croatian nationalism first arose in the 19th century after Budapest exerted increasing pressure for Magyarization of Cro ...

by Yugoslav authorities and had his apartment searched by the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

during the 1972 wave of arrests of Croatian Spring leaders. Vukov was touring

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 ...

at the time. His wife warned him not to return to Yugoslavia to avoid arrest, so instead he went to live in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, returning to Yugoslavia four years later in 1976. By that time, the authorities had lost interest in his case, but his singing career was effectively over; he was blacklisted, barred from performing publicly and all his records were pulled out of stores. In 1978, he graduated from 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 ...

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warra ...

(FFZG) majoring in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

. In 1989, an album of his new songs, albeit without his name on the cover, reappeared in Croatian music stores, signalling the political change. Later that same year, Vukov made a public comeback with a series of 14 sold-out concerts at the

Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall ( hr, Koncertna dvorana Vatroslava Lisinskog) is a large concert hall and convention center in Zagreb, Croatia. It is named after Vatroslav Lisinski, a 19th-century Croatian composer. The building has a big hall wit ...

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 ...

. Vukov is best remembered for recording some of the most popular lyrical Croatian patriotic songs, including "Zvona moga grada" (), "Hrvatski kraj" () and "Tvoja zemlja" (). After the first multi-party election in

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 ...

and the country's independence in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, Vukov became a prominent supporter of the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SDP). He ran several times for a seat in the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor ...

, finally succeeding as an independent candidate on the SDP party ticket in 2003. On 17 November 2005, while descending the stairs in the Parliament building, Vukov slipped and fell, sustaining a serious head injury. He was hospitalised and underwent surgery, but fell into a coma shortly afterwards. In March 2006, according to his doctors, he was in a

persistent vegetative state A persistent vegetative state (PVS) or post-coma unresponsiveness (PCU) is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. After four weeks in a vegetative stat ...

with no chance of recovery. However, in November 2007, Vukov was reported as being conscious at times, aware of his surroundings, and his condition was described as stable. He died in Zagreb in September 2008 aged 72.

References

External links

Biography

Preminuo Vice Vukov

Hronika smrtne oholosti
(Part 1)
Hronika smrtne oholosti
(Part 2) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vukov, Vice 1936 births 2008 deaths Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament Croatian pop singers 20th-century Croatian male singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Yugoslavia Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1963 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1965 Yugoslav male singers Croatian columnists People from Šibenik Social Democratic Party of Croatia politicians Croatian expatriates in France Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni