Jovanka Budisavljević
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Jovanka Broz (; sr-Cyrl, Јованка Броз, Будисављевић; 7 December 1924 – 20 October 2013) was the First Lady of
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
from 1952 until 1980 as the wife of Yugoslav president
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
. She was a lieutenant colonel in the
Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...
. Born in
Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...
, she joined the anti-fascist resistance movement in 1941 and served in the
Partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...
army during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, where she was wounded twice and awarded the
Order of Bravery The Order of Bravery () is a Bulgarian order which existed during the Kingdom of Bulgaria and currently exists in the Republic of Bulgaria. It was the second highest in the Kingdom of Bulgaria and is the fourth highest in the Republic of Bulgaria ...
. In 1945, she was assigned as Tito’s personal secretary and later became his wife in 1952. As First Lady, she participated in numerous diplomatic events and hosted foreign leaders. In the 1970s, tensions with Tito’s close aides led to accusations of political interference, resulting in her isolation and eventual separation from Tito in 1977. After his death in 1980, she lived in near-complete seclusion under unofficial house arrest, without personal documents or a pension. Her living conditions deteriorated, and she regained her documents only in 2009. She died in 2013 in Belgrade and was buried with state honors at the House of Flowers.


Early life

Jovanka Budisavljević was born on December 7, 1924, into a
Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...
family in the village of Pećane near
Udbina Udbina is a settlement and a municipality in historical Krbava, in the Lika region of Croatia. Administratively, it is part of the Lika-Senj County. Geography Udbina is located in the large karst field called Krbava. It is approximately 45 kil ...
, in the
Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...
region, then part of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...
, now
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 ...
.Tito's widow, Jovanka Broz, dies in Belgrade, aged 88
''BBC''. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
Her parents were Mihailo "Mićo" Budisavljević and Milica (née Svilar). She had four siblings: older brother Maksim (b. 1923), younger brother Petar (b. 1926), and two younger sisters, Nada (b. 1934) and Zora (b. 1936). She was named after her maternal grandmother, Jovanka Svilar. Her father emigrated to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
as a young man, where his uncles lived, before returning in 1920 to the newly formed kingdom. He purchased 20 acres of farmland and married Milica Svilar. The couple had three children before Mićo briefly moved to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. Fluent in English and well-traveled, he became known in the village as the "rich American." During World War II, he served as a translator for the American military mission that landed in the Krbava field. After Milica died of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
in 1937, Mićo remarried and had a daughter, Mara, with his second wife, Soka Svilar. Jovanka descended from a notable Serbian family. One of her ancestors, Prota Tomo Budisavljević, was an Orthodox priest and army major who defended the border against Ottoman incursions. His father, Marko Budisavljević, was granted a noble title in 1787 by Emperor
Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...
. Tomo’s daughter Sofia married Nikola Mandić, and their daughter Georgina became the mother of the famed inventor
Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...
, making Jovanka and Tesla distant relatives. In April 1941, when
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
started in Yugoslavia, the Budisavljević family was forced to flee the violently
anti-Serb Anti-Serb sentiment or Serbophobia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, србофобија, srbofobija, separator=" / ") is a generally negative view of Serbs as an ethnic group. Historically it has been a basis for the persecution of ethnic Serbs. A distinctiv ...
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
regime of the
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
, which targeted one third of the ''prečani'' Serbs for forced conversion to
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, another third for expulsion and the final third for
extermination Extermination or exterminate may refer to: * Pest control, elimination of insects or vermin * Extermination (crime), the killing of human on a large scale * Genocide, at least one of five "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in par ...
. The family's house was eventually burned down by the Ustaše troops. She joined the
Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
shortly thereafter, at the age of 17.


Life with and around Tito

Former JNA General Marjan Kranjc says Jovanka was assigned to the Marshal as early as 1945 as part of the personnel that checked his food and overall cleanliness for the purpose of preventing disease. After the death of Tito's great love , whose grave is in the Royal Compound in Dedinje, in 1946, Jovanka became his personal secretary according to Kranjc. "''In this way she became a part of the inner most security ring around Tito and had to sign a secret cooperation agreement with the State Security Service (SDB), which was the law''" - says Kranjc.Vreme 800 - Portret savremenika – Jovanka Broz: Tajna sa Dedinja


Initial relationship

Milovan Đilas Milovan Djilas (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Милован Ђилас, Milovan Đilas, ; 12 June 1911 – 20 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well ...
, one of the communist revolutionary movement's leading members and ideologues, and a subsequent dissident, provides more details about Jovanka during this period in ''Druženje s Titom'' (''Friendship with Tito''). According to him, the relationship with Tito was extremely difficult for her:
She never appeared outside of Tito's company. We'd see her many times as she was keeping a vigil for hours in a hallway'' 'while we're holding a late-night meeting inside''', to make sure she is available if Tito needs anything as he's going to sleep. Because of that, the wrath and the lack of trust she was receiving from other servants was almost inevitable.'' 'According to what was on offer''' the motives for her closeness to Tito could've been explained in endless ways, none of which would show her character in a good light: career climbing, cajolery, malicious female extravagance, exploitation of Tito's lonesomeness... As far as she was concerned, Tito was a war and communist party deity for whom everyone was supposed to sacrifice everything they had. She was a woman deep in the process of comprehending Tito as a man, while also increasingly and devotedly falling in love with him. She was resigned to burn out or fade away, unknown and unrecognized if need be, next to the divine man about whom she dreamt and to whom she could only belong now that he has chosen her.


Marriage

The exact date of their marriage is also subject to debate. The secret wedding ceremony happened either during 1951 or in April 1952; however, the location of the ceremony is also not clear. Some sources say it took place in the Dunavka villa in
Ilok Ilok () is the easternmost town in Croatia forming a geographic salient surrounded by Vojvodina. Located in the Syrmia region, it lies on the Fruška Gora hill overlooking the Danube river, which forms the border with the Bačka region of Serbi ...
while others list Belgrade's municipality of
Čukarica Čukarica ( sr-cyr, Чукарица, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Name Like several other neighborhoods of Belgrade, Čukarica was named after a kafana. At the present location of the Sugar Refin ...
as the location.


Deterioration

Many believed her to be a victim of the ambitions of various politicians who managed to manipulate the ageing Marshal into turning against his wife. Ivo Eterović, a writer and photographer with unprecedented decades-long access to Yugoslavia's ruling couple, stated "the main culprits for the Tito-Jovanka split are that pig
Stane Dolanc Stane Dolanc (16 November 1925 – 13 December 1999) was a Slovenian communist politician during SFR Yugoslavia. Dolanc was one of president Josip Broz Tito's closest collaborators and one of the most influential people in Yugoslav federal p ...
and General
Nikola Ljubičić Nikola Ljubičić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Љубичић; 4 April 1916 – 13 April 2005) was the President of the Presidency of Serbia (1982–1984), a member of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1984–19 ...
". In 1975, Tito left their common home, and she did not see him from 1977 to 1980 when he died. After Marshal Tito's death she lived in seclusion in Dedinje, a Belgrade suburb, under house arrest. The house was in a very bad condition; nobody cared to repair anything. The roof was leaking, she did not have her pension or her documents (ID and passport and health insurance card). She lived without heating for eight years. She got her ID and passport in 2009. They took her car, so she was not able to go to her husband's grave when she wanted. The government had to be notified if she left the house. She had practically no human rights for 30 years.


Death

Broz was hospitalized on 23 August 2013, and died from a heart attack in a Belgrade hospital on 20 October 2013, aged 88. She was buried in the House of Flowers mausoleum near her husband's grave.


Memoirs

The book titled ''My Life, My Truth'' was released three weeks before she died.


Honours

* : Dame Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (8 May 1956). * : Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (22 October 1970). *
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
: Commemorative Medal of the 2500th Anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire (14 October 1971). * Nepalese Royal Family: Member First Class of the Most Illustrious Order of the Three Divine Powers (2 February 1974).Alamy
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References in popular culture

In the British television series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'', the fictional character of
Tegan Jovanka Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fift ...
, one of the companions of the Fourth and
Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord ...
s, and one of the longest running companions of the Doctor, got the name as a combination of
Tegan Tegan is a given name of Welsh origin. It is a diminutive of the Welsh word ''teg'' ('fair') and means 'darling', 'loved one', or 'favourite', and is the normal Welsh word for 'toy'. People with the name Notable people with the first name Tegan ...
, named by one of the producers' niece, and Jovanka, after Jovanka Broz.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broz, Jovanka 1924 births 2013 deaths First ladies of Yugoslavia People from Belgrade People from Udbina Women in the Yugoslav Partisans Yugoslav Partisans members Serbs of Croatia Josip Broz Tito Officers of the Yugoslav People's Army Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite Members of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta, First Class