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 A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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, ...

(NDH) 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 ...

. He was executed by 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 ...

as a war criminal on 7 June 1945.

Early life

Nikola Mandić was born in the town of

Travnik Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

on 20 January 1869, to a Bosnian Croat family. He finished gymnasium in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

and went on to study law at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, where he received a doctorate in law in 1894. Mandić returned to Sarajevo and worked as a judicial clerk before becoming an attorney.

Political career

Austria-Hungary

In the early 1900s, Mandić became one of the most influential

Croat 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 ...

politicians in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...

. In 1907, he and other Croat politicians founded a political party known as the Croat People's Union (, HNZ). The party received approval from

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

in November 1907, and Mandić was elected party leader at its founding assembly in February 1908. At the time, he was serving as deputy mayor of Sarajevo. On 6 October 1908, Austria-Hungary officially annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mandić unconditionally supported the move, reasoning that the annexation would make it easier for the two regions to later be united with the nominally autonomous

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (; or ; ) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was created in 1868 by merging the kingdoms of Kingdom of Croatia (Habs ...

. He also believed that Bosnia and Herzegovina should receive the status of "empire's land", ruled jointly by both Austria and the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. Mandić became a member of the

Diet of Bosnia Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

(''Bosanski sabor'') in 1910, representing the HNZ. He was elected Speaker of the Diet in 1911 and was named vice-governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina by decree of Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

. Mandić was also the founder and first president of the Croatian Central Bank (''Hrvatska centralna banka'', HCB), as well as its subsidiary, the Agricultural Bank of Sarajevo (''Poljoprivredna banka u Sarajevu'', PBS). He also founded a Croatian choir called "Trebević". Mandić remained a member of the Bosnian Diet until Austria-Hungary's dissolution in November 1918.

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Following the establishment 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 ...

, Mandić was chosen to become a deputy in the National Assembly, but never took office because prominent Serbian politicians vetoed his appointment. In 1920, Mandić was appointed to the

constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, representing the Croatian Popular Party (''Hrvatska pučka stranka''). At the assembly, he became notable as an advocate of Croatian, as opposed to Yugoslav, political aims. He expressed his opposition to King

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

Vidovdan Constitution The Vidovdan Constitution was the first constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was approved by the Constitutional Assembly on 28 June 1921 despite the opposition boycotting the vote. The Constitution is named after the feast ...

and voted against it on 28 June 1921, when it was passed with 223 voted for, 35 voted against and 161 abstained. Disappointed by the outcome of the vote, Mandić tendered his resignation from the assembly.

Independent State of Croatia

Mandić was living as a retired government functionary at the time the

(''Nezavisna Država Hrvatska'', NDH) was declared. He worked as an attorney and served as president of the Sarajevo Chamber of Attorneys until September 1943. On 2 September 1943, '' Poglavnik''

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 was dictator of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a fasc ...

offered Mandić the post of Prime Minister of the Independent State of Croatia. Mandić accepted the offer. His appointment was met with mixed feelings, and infuriated politicians such as Mladen Lorković, Mile Starčević and Vladimir Košak, some of whom threatened to resign due to the decision. They brought up Mandić's age and questioned whether he would be able to serve to the best of his ability. Immediately, Mandić became involved in discussions with the

Croatian Peasant Party The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...

(, HSS) regarding the composition and character of the

Government of the Independent State of Croatia The Croatian State Government () was the government 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 e ...

. He advocated the creation of a coalition government, while prominent HSS member August Košutić voiced support for a clerical,

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 ...

one which distanced the

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 ...

from Croatian state politics. The discussions ended in late September 1943, with no political compromise reached. On 1 March 1944, Mandić and Croatian

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Stijepo Perić Stjepan "Stijepo" Perić (12 October 1896 – 12 June 1954) was a Croatian lawyer, politician, diplomat and member of the Croatian ultra-nationalist Ustaše. After the creation of the Independent State of Croatia in April 1941, he served as amb ...

visited

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

at the Schloss Klessheim, a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

palace located west of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. German

Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...

was also in attendance. At the meeting, Hitler stressed that he considered Croatia an ally and partner and maintained that Serbia was merely a conquered state, stating: " heSerbs will never be ermany'sfriends". Mandić and Perić complained to Hitler that the staff officers of the 13th ''Waffen'' Mountain Division of the SS ''Handschar'' (1st Croatian) were promoting the autonomy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hitler disagreed with Mandić's assessment of the division, but later reached a compromise with Muslim autonomists whereby the division would remain in Bosnia and be used to defend its Muslim population. In return, the autonomists promised Hitler that they would support Bosnia and Herzegovina's integration into the NDH. Mandić led an NDH government delegation to Sarajevo in late April 1944. There, he was presented with a memorandum documenting the persecution of Muslims by the Ustaše. Croatian politicians quickly condemned the memorandum, calling it "one of the greatest Muslim assaults...on the sovereignty and unity of the NDH." In March 1945, Mandić called for NDH citizens of all ethnicities to voice their thoughts on the Ustaše, the war and the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

. With his backing, the NDH drafted a memorandum to British

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Harold Alexander, Commander-in-Chief Middle East and commander of the 18th Army Group in Tunisia, expressing a desire to defect to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

in the wake of Hitler's death. The memorandum was ignored. Together with the rest of the Croatian government, Mandić left Zagreb on 8 May 1945 in the Independent State of Croatia evacuation to Austria. He surrendered to the British on 15 May and demanded

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

. The British ignored his requests and handed him over to the Partisans three days later, on 18 May. Mandić was charged with various war crimes and put before a military tribunal in Zagreb. Mandić was convicted and sentenced to death on 6 June 1945. His execution was carried out the following day.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandic, Nikola 1869 births 1945 deaths Croat People's Union politicians Croat politicians from Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian lawyers Croatian nationalists Executed Croatian collaborators with Fascist Italy Executed Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany Executed mass murderers Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia perpetrators Heads of government convicted of war crimes History of Travnik People executed by Yugoslavia People extradited from the United Kingdom People extradited to Yugoslavia People from Travnik University of Vienna alumni Yugoslav anti-communists Politicians from Austria-Hungary