Vane Ivanović
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Ivan "Vane" Stefan Ivanović (9 June 1913 – 4 April 1999) was a Yugoslav-British
athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...
,
shipowner A shipowner, ship owner or ship-owner is the owner of a ship. They can be merchant vessels involved in the shipping industry or non commercially owned. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, us ...
, political activist, diplomat, writer and philanthropist. One of the founders of the
European Movement The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History Initially the Euro ...
and the consul general of
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
in London, he devoted most of his life to the idea of Yugoslav unity.


Background

Vane Ivanović was born in 1913 in
Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
,
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 ...
to a Jewish Croat father and a Serb mother. His father,
Ivan Rikard Ivanović Dr. Ivan Rikard Ivanović (1880–1949) was a Croatian industrialist, politician and one of the founders of the Croatian National Progressive Party (NNS). Life and career Ivan Rikard Mendel Kraus was born in 1880 in Osijek, Kingdom of Croatia-Sl ...
, was originally born with the surname Kraus but like so many Jewish families feeling persecuted by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they changed their name and converted to
Catholic 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 ...
ism. Ivan Rikard subsequently became a representative in Croatia's Parliament. His mother, Milica (b. 26 February 1888) was a sister of Dušan Popović, a leading Serb politician in the ruling
Croat-Serb Coalition The Croat-Serb Coalition ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hrvatsko-srpska koalicija, separator=/, Хрватско-српска коалиција) was a major political alliance in Austria-Hungary during the early 20th century that governed the Croatian lands, th ...
.
Svetozar Pribićević Svetozar Pribićević ( sr-Cyrl, Светозар Прибићевић}, ; 26 October 1875 – 15 September 1936) was a Croatian Serb politician in Austria-Hungary and later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He was one of the main proponents of Yugoslavi ...
, the other leading Serb in the Coalition, was the best man at Rikard and Milica's wedding in July 1912, while
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 ...
, member of Ivan Rikard Ivanović's party and the leading Croat in the Coalition, was Ivanović's godfather. Ivanović had a younger brother, Vladimir, born 1917, and a younger sister, Daška, born in 1915. Whereas his family background clearly contributed to the development of Ivanović's strong Yugoslav identity, his life in Britain and the education he received there at
Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
and at
Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...
(where he read economics) made him a staunch
Anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. In some cases, Anglophilia refers to an individual's appreciation of English history and traditional English cultural ico ...
. A rather dandyish figure who often supported an impressive cigar, Ivanović appeared to
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 ...
and
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 ...
an English gentleman who spoke a slightly archaic
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 ...
; to the British he was considered a no less exotic 'Eastern gentleman'. Despite spending much time in Britain, Ivanović never sought to be naturalised. Although he did not hold a Yugoslav passport, he chose to remained stateless until he could become a citizen of the Republic of Croatia in 1990.


Sports

A well-known athlete, Ivanović was a member of the Yugoslav team at the
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...
held in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, running the 110-metre and 400-metre hurdles. He was the undisputed Yugoslav champion in both disciplines throughout the 1930s. At the event, he was among the number of athletes who refused to give
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 ...
the
Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...
. In 110m he reached the semi-finals in Berlin and in 400m hurdles he held the Yugoslav record for 17 years, from 1936 until 1953. Ivanović maintained his love of sport throughout his life. His only concession to age (in his 80s) was to cut back his runs around Hyde Park to alternate days. He was also an avid
scuba diver Scuba, originally SCUBA, often expanded to scuba set, is any self contained underwater breathing apparatus, a source of breathing gas used for underwater diving which is carried by the diver. Scuba may also refer to: * Scuba diving Scuba ...
. One of the pioneers of the sport, he contributed greatly to its development in Europe and the
Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...
. He wrote a number of books on
spearfishing Spearfishing is fishing using handheld elongated, sharp-pointed tools such as a spear, gig, or harpoon, to impale the fish in the body. It was one of the earliest fishing techniques used by mankind, and has been deployed in artisanal fishi ...
, of which one in particular, ''Modern Spearfishing'' (1974), remains a classic among diving enthusiasts.


Shipping

After his parents' divorce in the early 1920s, Ivanović's mother remarried Božidar "Božo" Banac in London on 9 November 1921. Banac lived in London where he ran a shipping business, Jugoslovenski Lloyd, Ltd., (Yugoslav Lloyd), then Yugoslavia's largest shipping company which operated vessels in the Atlantic, Adriatic and Mediterranean waters. Ivanović and his siblings then moved in with their new stepfather. Banac, a native of
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
and a believer in Yugoslav unity, had helped the creation and activities of the
Yugoslav Committee The Yugoslav Committee (, , ) was a World War I-era, unelected, '' ad-hoc'' committee. It largely consisted of émigré Croat, Slovene, and Bosnian Serb politicians and political activists whose aim was the detachment of Austro-Hungarian l ...
, a group of Croat, Slovene and Serb politicians and intellectuals also based in London. In 1937 he was made director of his stepfather's company.


World War II

In 1914, Banac had placed his ships at the disposal of the British war effort. The family did the same at the outbreak of
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 ...
, when Ivanović, acting on behalf of his then ailing stepfather, placed 10 out of the 22 steamers owned by Yugoslav Lloyd in the service of the
Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...
. Thus, Banac and Ivanović were the first shipowners from a neutral country to join the Allies. After the
invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...
by
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, and their external and internal allies in April 1941, Ivanović organized other Yugoslav shipowners into the "Yugoslav Shipping Committee". Their aim was to prevent the capture of the Yugoslav mercantile fleet, still in neutral waters, by the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
. In the summer of 1943, Ivanović joined the Yugoslav section of the
Political Warfare Executive During World War II, the Political Warfare Executive (PWE) was a British clandestine body created to produce and disseminate both white and black propaganda, with the aim of damaging enemy morale and sustaining the morale of countries occupied ...
(PWE) the propaganda arm of Britain's
Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
. Even though most of the fleet of Yugoslav Lloyd had either been sunk or captured by this point, there were still enough independently owned Yugoslavian ships participating in the Allied effort under flags of convenience. In his memoirs, Ivanović explained why he did not return to his occupied country to join
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 ...
's or
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 ...
's resistance movements: "I had no desire to forget the enemy and engage in a fratricidal war among my fellow countrymen, especially as I did not wholly agree with either side." He spent the rest of the war between London,
Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...
and
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
and was eventually demobilized as a Major in the
British army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
. Because of 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 ...
seizure of power in Yugoslavia, he remained in Britain as a
political refugee 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 sovereign authority, such as a second country or another enti ...
. In April 1945, Božidar "Božo" Banac, Ivanović's stepfather died.


Post-war years

After the war, and despite the fact that most of his pre-war fleet had been either destroyed or nationalized by the new Yugoslav authorities, Ivanović resumed a successful career in shipping. In February 1949 Ivanović's biological father died in
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
-Quinto, Italy. That same year his sister was remarried to Lt. Col. Neil McLean, DSO, who had also been a member of
Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...
during the war. That same year Ivanović founded the "Benevolent Association of Free Citizens of Yugoslavia", a charity financed mainly by himself. Through this organization and as a private individual he helped innumerable refugees, students, artists and
political dissidents Political dissent is a dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Expressions of dissent may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence. During the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
years, along with other like-minded Yugoslavs, Ivanović organized many discussions about the fate of his homeland, which led to the two-volume collection "A Democratic Alternative", published in 1963, which warned that the establishment of independent states in the
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
would spawn 'fatal conflicts'. Ivanović would continue to help his fellow countrymen right up until his death, sponsoring a number of postgraduate students who fled the 1990s conflict in Yugoslavia, and was also one of the founders of
Jean Monnet Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, and administrator. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the founding fathers of t ...
's
European Movement The European Movement International is a lobbying association that coordinates the efforts of associations and national councils with the goal of promoting European integration, and disseminating information about it. History Initially the Euro ...
, heading the Yugoslav Committee for more than three decades. In 1967, Ivanović was appointed by Prince
Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years. Rainier was born at the Prince's Pala ...
to the post of consul general of
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
in London. His mother, Milica, subsequently moved there permanently and died in Monaco three years later. In 1977, he published his auto-biography entitled: ''LX, Memoirs of a Jugoslav''. In 1982, the final memorandum of the "Democratic Alternative" argued that Yugoslavia could only survive as a democratic community of sovereign nations, and that any other scenario would almost inevitably lead to a civil war. Ivanović lived long enough to witness the awful fulfillment of this prophecy with the outbreak of the
Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...
. In 1990 Ivanović became a citizen of the Republic of Croatia. He died in London on 4 April 1999. His father liked to point out that Ivanović was the first Yugoslav in the family. Born on the eve of unification, he died as its last remnants collapsed. In October 1939Vreme, 31 Oct. 1939, p. 16
digitalna.nb.rs Retrieved 31 Oct. 2019.
Ivanović married June Fisher with whom he had two sons, Ivan Božidar ("Božo") and Andrija; and one daughter, Minja. His son Božo succeeded him as director of Ivanovic & Co. and as Consul of Monaco upon his death.


References


Bibliography

* ''Submarine Spearfishing'' by Vane Ivanović (Kaye-Ward, London, 1951) * ''Meštrović Genij'' by Vane Ivanović (Essay, Notre-Dame Archives, Indiana 1962) * ''Democratic Yugoslavia: Vol. 1: An Outline for Discussion'' by Vane Ivanović (Izvor, 1968) * ''Democratic Yugoslavia: Vol. 2: An Outline for Discussion'' by Vane Ivanović (Izvor, 1972) * ''Modern Spearfishing'' by Vane Ivanović (Kaye-Ward, London, 1974) * ''LX, Memoirs of a Jugoslav'' by Vane Ivanović (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, London, 1977) * ''Yugoslav Democracy on Hold'' by Vane Ivanović (Dodir, London, 1996)


External links


''Kingston University/Vane Ivanović Lecture''''Kingston University/Vane Ivanović Library''''Kingston University/Vane Ivanović Archive''''Kingston University/Vane Ivanović Project''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanovic, Vane 1913 births 1999 deaths People from Osijek Croatian Austro-Hungarians Croatian people of Jewish descent Croatian emigrants to England Yugoslav emigrants to the United Kingdom Yugoslav diplomats Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Yugoslavia British people of Croatian-Jewish descent Underwater divers Croatian people of Serbian descent Yugoslav male hurdlers British people of Serbian descent