Miha Krek (28 September 1897 – 18 November 1969) was a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Between 1941 and 1969, he was the informal leader of the Slovenian

anti-Communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

emigration. Born in the

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jeseni ...

n village of Leskovica, he studied at the St. Stanislaus Institute in Šentvid near

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was drafted in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. After the war, he studied law at the universities of

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 ...

and

, where he obtained his PhD in 1930. Until 1935, he had a law firm in Ljubljana. Krek joined the conservative Catholic Slovene People's Party in 1921. Initially, he served in the Party's auxiliary cultural associations. He also served as the president of the Slovenian section of the

Catholic Action Catholic Action is the name of groups of lay Catholics who advocate for increased Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, Ita ...

, and chief editor of the main conservative newspaper '' Slovenec''. During the royal dictatorship of king

Alexander I of Yugoslavia Alexander I ( sr-Cyrl, Александар I Карађорђевић, Aleksandar I Karađorđević, ) ( – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier, was the prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia from 1914 and later the King of Yug ...

, he served as vice-president of the party. In 1936, he became

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

in the cabinet of

Milan Stojadinović Milan Stojadinović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Стојадиновић; 4 August 1888 – 26 October 1961) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and economist who served as the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1935 to 1939. He also served as Forei ...

. In 1938, he was elected Member of the Parliament 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 Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

on the list of the Yugoslav Radical Community, of which the Slovene People's Party was part between 1935 and 1941. In December of the same year, he became Minister of Constructions. He maintained the ministry in the government of

Dragiša Cvetković Dragiša Cvetković ( sr-cyr, Драгиша Цветковић; 15 January 1893 – 18 February 1969) was a Yugoslav politician active in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He served as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1939 to 1941. ...

, formed after Stojadinović's downfall in February 1939. In 1940, he was named Minister of Education in the Cvetković-Maček coalition government. After the death of

Anton Korošec Anton Korošec (, ; 12 May 1872 – 14 December 1940) was a Yugoslav politician, a prominent member of the conservative People's Party, a Roman Catholic priest and a noted orator. Early life Korošec was born in Biserjane (then Duchy of Styr ...

, Krek became General Secretary of the Yugoslav Radical Community in the

Drava Banovina The Drava Banovina or Drava Banate ( Slovene and Serbo-Croatian: ''Dravska banovina''), was a province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of most of present-day Slovenia and was named for the Dra ...

, and thus the second most influential politician in the Slovene People's Party after Fran Kulovec. After the

Axis invasion of Yugoslavia An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...

in April 1941, Krek emigrated to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and then to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, as a member of the Yugoslav

Government in Exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile us ...

, led by

Dušan Simović Dušan Simović (; 28 October 1882 – 26 August 1962) was a Yugoslav Serb army general who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army and as the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia in 1940–1941. Biography Simović, born on 28 ...

. Following the death of Fran Kulovec in the Belgrade air raid, Krek became the exile leader of the Slovene People's Party, while

Marko Natlačen Marko Natlačen (24 April 1886 – 13 October 1942) was a Slovenian politician and jurist, who also served as the last ban (governor) of the Drava Banovina in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. His assassination at the hands of the Slovenian Communist se ...

became the party's leader in occupied Slovenia. Together with fellow party member

Franc Snoj Franc Snoj (28 January 1902 – 22 April 1962) was a Slovenian politician and economist. He was a minister without portfolio in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1938 and 1939. During the Second World War, together with the other members of the Yugosl ...

, Krek became the Slovene representative the Yugoslav exile governments of

Slobodan Jovanović Slobodan Jovanović ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Јовановић; 3 December 1869 – 12 December 1958) was a Serbian and Yugoslav writer, historian, lawyer, philosopher, literary critic, diplomat, politician and one of the most prominent int ...

and Miloš Trifunović. During this time, he published several manifestos urging the

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...

, without much success, to join the

Chetnik The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

resistance movement of

Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...

. He also maintained contacts with the Slovene non-Communist underground resistance, known as the Slovene Covenant. In 1944, he opposed the Tito-Šubašić Agreement, with which the Yugoslav government in exile recognized the

Yugoslav partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

. The same year, he moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he organized the Slovenian National Council Abroad, which was opposed to the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

-led

Liberation Front of the Slovenian People The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation ( sl, Osvobodilna fronta slovenskega naroda), or simply Liberation Front (''Osvobodilna fronta'', OF), originally called the Anti-Imperialist Front (''Protiimperialistična fronta'', PIF), was a Slovene ...

. In May and June 1945, he tried unsuccessfully to prevent the re-patriation of the

Slovene Home Guard The Slovene Home Guard ( sl, Slovensko domobranstvo, SD; german: Slowenische Landeswehr) was a Slovene anti- Partisan military organization that was active during the 1943–1945 German occupation of the formerly Italian-occupied Province of Lju ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. In September of the same year, he co-authored a manifesto titled "Tito's Government is Introducing Totalitarianism", together with the leader of the

Socialist Party of Yugoslavia The Socialist Party of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička partija Jugoslavije, Социјалистичка партија Југославије) was a political party in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The party was founded on 18 December 1921 ...

Živko Topalović Živko Topalović (21 March 1886 in Užice – 11 February 1972 in Vienna) was a Yugoslav socialist politician. Topalović became a leading figure in the Socialist Party of Yugoslavia, founded in 1921.Banac, Ivo. The National Question in Yugos ...

and the leader of the Independent Democratic Party Adam Pribićević. In 1946, Krek was tried ''in absentia'' by the new Yugoslav Communist authorities on charges of high treason and war crimes and sentenced to 15 years of prison. He stayed in Rome until 1947, where he organized, together with

Ivan Ahčin Ivan Ahčin (March 9, 1897, Domžale – February 16, 1960) was a Slovene sociologist, journalist, author and politician. He studied theology at the University of Ljubljana, where he graduated in 1925. He later worked as a professor of sociolo ...

, a network that helped in the emigration of tens and thousands of Slovenes, especially to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1947, he moved to the United States himself, and was officially elected as president of the Slovene People's Party in Exile. During 1949, he assisted Reuben H. Markham, who edited "Communists Crush Churches in Eastern Europe," with material on Yugoslavia. He died in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, and was succeeded by Miloš Stare as the President of the Slovene People's Party.

References

Article on Miha Krek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krek, Miha 1897 births 1969 deaths People from the Municipality of Gorenja Vas-Poljane Slovenian Roman Catholics Slovene People's Party (historical) politicians Government ministers of Yugoslavia Representatives in the Yugoslav National Assembly (1921–1941) Yugoslav lawyers Slovenian people of World War II Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb alumni University of Ljubljana alumni Slovenian anti-communists Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I

See also

References