Milan Đukić (; 10 April 1947, in

Donji Lapac Donji Lapac ( sr-Cyrl, Доњи Лапац) is a settlement and a municipality in Lika, Croatia. Geography Donji Lapac is located a region of eastern Lika called ''Ličko Pounje'', by the river Una (Sava), Una that flows near the town in the val ...

– 8 October 2007, in Donji Lapac) was a

Croatian Serb The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Хрватски Срби, Hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in ...

politician. He was the leader of the Serb People's Party, and a former Deputy

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

Biography

Đukić lead the Serb People's Party from the 1990s until his death in 2007. His party represented ethnic

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

in Croatia who did not join a

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...

rebellion against Croatia's

independence movement Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a ...

from the former

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 ...

. Đukić was the subject of heavy criticism from both

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

and

within

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 ...

. Croats disliked him because he criticized the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

's treatment of ethnic Serbs, who are the country's largest

minority group The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

. Ethnic Serbs at times disliked Đukić because he was seen as part of Croatia's political establishment. Đukić served as a lawmaker and Member of Parliament from 1992 until 2003. He served as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament from 1992 until 1996. His influence in government gradually diminished as other ethnic Serbs attracted votes and attention from Croatia's minority communities. Đukić died in his home village of Donji Lapac, which is located in

Central Croatia In contemporary geography, the terms Central Croatia () and Mountainous Croatia () are used to describe most of the area sometimes historically known as Croatia or Croatia proper (), one of the four historical regions of the Republic of Cro ...

, on 8 October 2007. He was 61 and was survived by his wife, Dara, and their two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dukic, Milan 1947 births 2007 deaths People from Donji Lapac Serbs of Croatia Serb People's Party (Croatia) politicians Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament