Matko Laginja (August 10, 1852 – March 18, 1930) 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 = , capi ...

n lawyer and politician. Born in

Klana Klana ( it, Clana) is a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. Geography The municipal area is situated in the densely forested Gorski kotar mountains, about north of Rijeka and the Kvarner Gulf, close to the bord ...

, he earned a doctorate in law in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

. In his youth he adopted the political program of

Ante Starčević Ante Starčević (; 23 May 1823 – 28 February 1896) was a Croatian politician and writer. His policies centered around Croatian state law, the integrity of Croatian lands, and the right of his people to self-determination. As an important mem ...

and together with

Vjekoslav Spinčić Vjekoslav Spinčić (23 October 1848 – 27 May 1933) was a Croats, Croatian politician from Istria. Born in Spinčići near Kastav, he studied theology in Gorizia and Trieste, and was ordained a priest in 1872. Afterwards, he continued stud ...

and Matko Mandić brought Croatian national thinking and sharp attacks against the local Italian party and Italian nationalism into the political life of Istria. As a leading local politician, he fought for three decades for a renaissance of the region's

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 ...

. He continued his work 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 ...

, particularly as the ban of Croatia. From 1900 to 1915 he was an attorney in Pula; in 1915 he moved his practice to Zagreb. He was one of the leaders of the Croatian national movement in Istria as well as a member of the Istrian provincial parliament from 1883 to 1914. For one period he was ambassador to the Imperial Council 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 ...

, then president of

Starčević's Party of Rights The Party of Rights ( hr, Stranka prava) was a Croatian nationalist political party in Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and later in Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was founded in 1861 by Ante Starčević and Eugen Kvaternik, two influent ...

. During the upheaval of fall 1918 he was trustee of the National Council in Istria. With the annexation of Istria to the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he settled in Zagreb. From February to December 1920 Laginja was ban of Croatia within the

Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

. He was dismissed by the cabinet of Milenko Radomar Vesnić on December 11, 1920 after allowing a rally by the Croatian Peasant Party politician Stjepan Radić in Zagreb on December 8. He was elected to the Constitutional Assembly which he resigned on June 1, 1921 along with ten others issuing a statement against centralization and for a federalized country. After this he withdrew from public life. He died in Zagreb.

Sources

Laginja, Matko (Matija, Matej, Mate)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laginja, Matko 1852 births 1930 deaths Bans of Croatia Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Croatian nationalists Party of Rights politicians People from Istria Yugoslavism