Jože Brilej (nom de guerre "Bolko," 1 January 1910 – 8 May 1981) was a diplomat,

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 ...

, ambassador,

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, Partisan,

war hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero' ...

, revolutionary, lawyer, judge, and close associate of Josip Broz Tito.

Career

Brilej was born in Presečno, Dobje pri Planini,

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 ...

. He served as the Yugoslav ambassador to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

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 Medit ...

and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, permanent representative of

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

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

for life,

President of the United Nations Security Council The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the 15 member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the President of t ...

in 1956, member of the

United Nations Special Committee on Palestine The United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) was created on 15 May 1947 in response to a United Kingdom government request that the General Assembly "make recommendations under article 10 of the Charter, concerning the future govern ...

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the supreme court of

, editor of '' Ljudska pravica'', and political commissar and

in the Partisan National Liberation Army 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 opposing ...

Early life

Brilej was the youngest of ten children born in Presecno near Dobje pri Planini, then still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father died when he was very young, soon followed by his oldest brother, who had become provisional head of the family. A bright and gifted child, local

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priests recognised Brilej's merits at a young age and sponsored his further education at a private monastic boarding school and later at a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in Maribor, where he initially studied to become a priest. After completing his first year of seminary studies, Brilej realised his newly found political beliefs and relationship with his future wife were no longer aligned with that of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and he transferred to study

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at 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 ...

Early politics

In 1932, while still a student, he had become a fully fledged member of the

Yugoslav Communist Party The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...

. In 1934 he was made the

delegate for

. At the same time he became the founding editor of the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

newspaper '' Ljudska pravica'', the production and distribution of which was made illegal in 1936. During this period, Brilej was briefly arrested and imprisoned in

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 are ...

. In 1938 he graduated from the

with a PhD in

. The same year he enrolled and began studies to become a medical doctor, which was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War.

World War II

As an active

and Slovenian

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

party member before the war, he immediately joined the

Slovene Partisans The Slovene Partisans, formally the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Slovenia, (NOV in POS) were part of Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement Jeffreys-Jones, R. (2013): ''In Spies We Trust: The Story of Western ...

Yugoslav Partisan The Yugoslav Partisans, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

liberation resistance army at the outbreak of

. He served as political commissar and as the equivalent rank of

in Tomsič Brigade in the Slovene Partisan army's 14th Division. Brilej's friend the poet and writer Karel "

Kajuh Karel Destovnik, pen name and nom de guerre Kajuh (Slovene convention: ''Karel Destovnik – Kajuh'', 13 December 1922 – 22 February 1944) was a Slovenian poet, translator, resistance fighter, and Yugoslav people's hero. Life and work Kaju ...

" Destovnik was also in his brigade. Other friends and comrades in the 14th Division included

Franc Rozman Franc Rozman, nom de guerre Stane (Slovene convention: ''Franc Rozman – Stane'') or Stane MlinarKlanjšček, Zdravko. 1996. "Rozman, Franc – Stane." ''Enciklopedija Slovenije'', vol. 10. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, pp. 297–98. (27 March 19 ...

, Anton Vratusa, Joze Lampret, and Mirko Bracic. Throughout the war he used the nom de guerre "Bolko". He conducted many covert undercover intelligence operations during the war, as well as fighting in guerrilla campaigns and maintaining troop morale and political literacy. Due to his education and command of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

he led numerous hostage negotiations and exchanges with Nazi officials often with his friend and comrade Aleš Bebler. He led his battalion on many missions to rescue Allied personnel who were trapped behind enemy lines or had become

prisoners. Mainly these were

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

pilots and soldiers. Most notably he led a successful rescue mission to rescue Major

Randolph Churchill Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill (28 May 1911 – 6 June 1968) was an English journalist, writer, soldier, and politician. He served as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Preston from 1940 to 1945. The only son of British ...

and his battalion within half an hour of their being captured by the German forces.

Political and diplomatic career

He was Yugoslavia's first official ambassador to London, England. He was presented at the Court of St James's and succeeded in having the Federal Republic of

recognised by the British government. At the time of his appointment, he was Yugoslavia's youngest diplomat at a transitional time for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with the funeral of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

and the coronation of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. He was well received in England also due to his and his wife's wartime bravery, during which he rescued and safely returned many Allied and British personnel particularly from the

, most prominently Major

. During his time in London he became friends with

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

and Sir Fitzroy Maclean. As a result, he and

President Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...

hosted Anthony Eden at Lake Bled,

as the first western leader to formally recognise the new country.

United Nations

His involvement with the

began in

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

almost immediately after its founding after World War II, later in New York where he was also Ambassador of Yugoslavia. He was a member of

. He was elected

in 1956 at the

Headquarters of the United Nations zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg , im ...

New York. He remained a permanent representative for Yugoslavia to the United Nations throughout his life.

Personal life

He was the husband of Marta Brilej (1917–2016). They were married on 11 July 1936 at the

Ljubljana Cathedral Ljubljana Cathedral ( sl, ljubljanska stolnica), officially named Saint Nicholas's Church (, unofficially also ), also named Saint Nicholas's Cathedral ( sl, stolnica sv. Nikolaja), the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, or simply the Cathedral (), is a ...

. They had a son, Joze Brilej (born 1937), and a daughter, Tatiana (Tatjana) Brilej (born 1947). Brilej died on 8 May 1981 in

from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

. He is buried at

Žale Žale Central Cemetery ( sl, Centralno pokopališče Žale), often simply Žale, is the largest and the central cemetery in Ljubljana and Slovenia. It is located in the Bežigrad District and operated by the Žale Public Company. History The ce ...

cemetery in

alongside his wife Marta Brilej and opposite his lifelong friend, Partisan comrade and diplomat Aleš Bebler.

Commemorations

Brilej Street ( sl, Brilejeva ulica) in

is named after him. On 9 August 1987 a commemorative government plaque was unveiled on the house where he was born in Presečno, Dobje pri Planini.

Awards and decorations

Some of the awards and decorations of Jože Brilej include:

External links

*http://www.london.mfa.gov.rs/odrzavanje/stampa.php?id=1359042261&archive= *https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39786/page/1103 *http://spartacus-educational.com/PRchurchill.htm *http://www.hawaii.edu/uhwo/clear/HonoluluRecord/volume8/v8n42.pdf *http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44922431 *https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19501221&id=kLsyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5usFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1505,405794 *https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/38956/page/3366 *https://web.archive.org/web/20140603191241/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/FB6DD3F0E9535815852572DD006CC607 *http://kozjansko.info/2011/03/10-3-veleposlanik-v-londonu-dr-joze-brilej-svojim-volivcem/ *http://arsq.gov.si/Query/detail.aspx?ID=26406 *https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214442/http://www.uciteljneznalica.org/upload/ebook/814_%C4%90ilas,%20Milovan,%20Rise%20and%20Fall,%20Macmillan,%201985.pdf *http://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/09/obituaries/joza-brilej-yugoslav-envoy-71-served-at-london-un-and-cairo.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20150924014920/http://www.foto.mij.rs/site/search?searchbox=brilej *http://grobovi.zale.si/en/Home/Preview?Names=brilej%20&OnlyFamus=False&IsComplex=False&UId=007906cb-1ec2-4213-9a16-5f599aa8ce8e *http://www.quirinale.it/elementi/DettaglioOnorificenze.aspx?decorato=33670 *

Slovene National Liberation Committee The Slovene National Liberation Committee (SNOS) ( sl, Slovenski narodnoosvobodilni svet; sh, Slovensko narodnooslobodilačko vijeće, Словеначко народноослободилачко веће) was formed as the highest governing organ ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brilej, Joze 1910 births 1981 deaths People from the Municipality of Dobje Yugoslav Partisans members Diplomats from Ljubljana Politicians from Ljubljana Military personnel from Ljubljana Slovene resistance members Grand Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Permanent Representatives of Yugoslavia to the United Nations Ambassadors of Yugoslavia to the United States Ambassadors of Yugoslavia to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Yugoslavia to Mexico Ambassadors of Yugoslavia to Egypt Ambassadors of Yugoslavia to Yemen Yugoslav judges Government ministers of Yugoslavia University of Ljubljana alumni Slovenian journalists Yugoslav people of World War II Yugoslav soldiers 20th-century journalists Deaths from lung cancer