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 ...

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 ...

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...

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. It was established in p ...

Fausto Veranzio Fausto Veranzio ( la, Faustus Verantius; hr, Faust Vrančić; Hungarian and Vernacular Latin: ''Verancsics Faustus'';Andrew L. SimonMade in Hungary: Hungarian contributions to universal culture/ref>http://www.hrcak.srce.hr/file/95656 as a Croatian term for the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word

princeps ''Princeps'' (plural: ''principes'') is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person". As a title, ''princeps'' originated in the Roman Republic w ...

. According to Vladimir Anić's ''Rječnik hrvatskoga jezika'' (Croatian Dictionary) and the '' Croatian Encyclopedic Dictionary'' the word comes from the adjective form ''poglavit'', which can be loosely translated as 'first and foremost' or 'respectable, noble, honorable'. The adjective is in turn a compound of the Croatian prefix ''po-'' and the

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium B.C. through the 6th ...

word stem In linguistics, a word stem is a part of a word responsible for its lexical meaning. The term is used with slightly different meanings depending on the morphology of the language in question. In Athabaskan linguistics, for example, a verb stem ...

''glava'' 'head'. Because it was used by the fascist regime, the title (which had originally meant "head" or "chief" but was rarely used before the 1930s) is never used today in its original sense as it became synonymous with Pavelić and took on negative connotations after World War II. Other etymologically closely related words used in modern Croatian are "poglavar" (translated as "head of state" or "chief", used for

heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

) and "poglavica" (translated as "chief", in the sense of tribal leader).

Political role and context

Ante Pavelić first began using the title of "Poglavnik" when it was prescribed as the official title for the supreme leader of the

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Move ...

movement in the organization's founding charter in 1930, while he was in exile in Italy. The organization (whose name at the time meant simply "rebels" in Croatian but which also lost its original meaning in modern usage), was organized as a movement which sought to create an independent

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 nation-state by means of

armed struggle War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

at the time when Croatia was part of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia 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 ...

. Following the 1941 invasion of Yugoslavia and the establishment of the puppet state called

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. It was established in p ...

(commonly referred to by its Croatian-language initialism NDH), the title continued to be used for Pavelić, and its meaning was taken to have evolved into "the supreme leader". The title is therefore usually compared and considered equivalent to other titles of ethno-political leadership used at the time such as

Führer ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader princip ...

(used by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, which was itself modeled after Benito Mussolini's title

Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 192 ...

). As a result, "Poglavnik" is sometimes translated as "Führer" in English-language sources. Legally, the exact role of the person carrying the title and its function were never officially stipulated in the constitution or in any other piece of legislation passed during NDH's existence. From May 1941 to October 1943 NDH was formally a kingdomHrvatski Narod (newspaper)16.05.1941. no. 93. p.1.,Public proclamation of the''Zakonska odredba o kruni Zvonimirovoj'' (Decrees on the crown of Zvonimir), tri članka donesena 15.05.1941.Die Krone Zvonimirs, Monatshefte fur Auswartige Politik, Heft 6(1941)p.434. and its formal head of state was King Tomislav II, an Italian Prince who was made King.Hrvoje Matković, Designirani hrvatski kralj Tomislav II. vojvoda od Spoleta. Povijest hrvatskotalijanskih odnosa u prvoj polovici XX.st. (Designated Croatian king Tomislav II. Duke of Spoleto. History of Croatian-Italian relationships in first half of the 20th century), Zagreb 2007. so Ante Pavelić (and by extension the title of "Poglavnik") was ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' the country's Prime Minister. Following Italy's exit from World War II in September 1943, Pavelić took on the role equivalent to head of state, while

Nikola Mandić Nikola Mandić (; 20 January 1869 – 7 June 1945) was a Croatian politician and one of the leading political figures in Bosnia and Herzegovina under Austrian-Hungarian rule. He also served as a Prime Minister of the Independent State of Croati ...

was officially appointed Prime Minister of NDH. Thus, from September 1943 until the state's dissolution on 8 May 1945, the title can be taken to mean Head of State. Regardless of the official role of the title, Pavelić had unlimited authority to pass decrees and appoint government ministers throughout the existence of NDH. Since the state ceased to exist in 1945, the title was never claimed by any successor. It continued to be used informally as a nickname for Pavelić during his post-war exile until his death in Madrid in 1959, and has become synonymous with him ever since.

References

{{Reflist Heads of government Heads of state Titles of national or ethnic leadership Independent State of Croatia Titles held only by one person

Etymology and usage

Political role and context

See also

References