Blaž Lorković (; 29 January 1839 – 17 February 1892) was a Croatian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, considered to be the founder of Croatian

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

. Due to his contributions,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

named its

Order of Danica Hrvatska The Order of Danica Hrvatska (, ) is the fourteenth most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on 1 April 1995. The medal is awarded for different purposes and with different faces: * Marko Marulić – for cultur ...

for business and economics after him.

Biography

Lorković was born in Jarče Polje near

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

to a rural family, the only child of Pavao and Julka Lorković. In 1851, he attended high school in

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

, where he was noticed and in 1854, with the help and persuasion of his uncle, the parish priest in the village Rasinja near

Koprivnica Koprivnica () is a city in Northern Croatia, located 70 kilometers northeast of Zagreb. It is the capital and the largest city of Koprivnica-Križevci County. In 2011, the city's administrative area of 90.94 km2 had a total populati ...

, he moved to

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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. He was located at the Episcopal orphanage. After completing high school education in October 1857, Lorković turned to the clergy and entered the archdiocesan

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

, deciding to answer the vocational call to the priesthood to satisfy his parents and uncle. During his time in seminary, he edited literary magazines and fought against

Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, German people, people, and German culture, culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nati ...

. He left the seminary on 17 February 1862. In October 1863, he entered as a regular student into the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

's Faculty of Law. He passed all the exams in regular period with highest grades. In July 1867, Lorković successfully finished his four-year law degree. On 16 December 1871, Lorković became a teacher at the Royal Juridical Academy. He replaced his belletristic work with scientific and educational at the Juridical Academy and similar associations. The most important of Lorković's scientific work is ''Počela političke ekonomije ili nauke obćega gospodarstva'', which was published by

Matica hrvatska Matica hrvatska () is the oldest independent, non-profit and non-governmental Croatian national institution. It was founded on February 2, 1842 by the Croatian Count Janko Drašković and other prominent members of the Illyrian movement during ...

in 1889 in the context of a series of publications for Croatian dealers. He served as a rector of the

in the academic year 1883/1884. He died in

in 1892. He is buried at

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, ), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery (), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members of all religious groups: Catholic, Orthodox, M ...

. His son

Ivan Lorković Ivan Lorković (; 17 June 1876 – 24 February 1926) was a Croatian politician from Zagreb who studied Law at the University of Cambridge. He was a member of the Croat-Serb Coalition, a political alliance active in the early 20th century. He w ...

and grandson

Mladen Lorković Mladen Lorković (; 1 March 1909 – April 1945) was a Croatian politician and lawyer who became a senior member of the Ustaše and served as the Foreign Minister and Minister of Interior of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World W ...

became influential politicians in their own right.

Work

Scientific works: * ''Foundations of Political Economy or the Science of General Economics'' () * ''Discourses on the National Economy'' () * ''What the Economic Condition of Croatia in the 18th Century Was, Which of These Ideas of National Economy Prevailed, and Who the Defenders of Those Ideas Were'' (, report) * ''The Current Condition of Economic Science'' (, report) * ''Women in the Home and in Society'' () He published his literary works in popular magazines '' Vienac'' and ''Naše gore list'': * ''Love and Faith'' (, short story) * ''Several Secret Little Papers'' (, short story) * ''The Blind Man'' (, novella) * ''Infidelity'' (, short story) * ''Traveling Occasions and Mishaps'' (, itinerary) * ''The Dance'' , novella) * ''Under the Pear Tree'' (, novella) * ''Exceptions'' (, short story) * ''The Mediator'' (, short story) * ''Easter Eggs'' (, short story) * ''Too Late'' (, short story) * ''Convicted Vanity'' () * ''Field on the Sea'' (, novella) * ''Confession'' (, novel) * ''Father and Daughter'' (, short story) * ''Past and Present'' () * ''Croats and Serbs'' (, article)

Notes

References

Lorković's biography
at the University of Zagreb website
Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorkovic, Blaz 1839 births 1892 deaths People from Netretić 19th-century Croatian economists Croatian lawyers Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb alumni Rectors of the University of Zagreb Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Economists from Austria-Hungary Lawyers from Austria-Hungary Rectors of universities in Austria-Hungary 19th-century lawyers