Vladimir Bakarić

Vladimir Bakarić (pronounced [ʋlǎdimiːr bǎkarit͡ɕ]; 8 March 1912 – 16 January 1983) was a Yugoslav and Croatian communist revolutionary and a politician.

Vladimir Bakarić
Vladimir Bakarić by 1966
Member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia for SR Croatia
In office 15 May 1974 – 16 January 1983
Preceded by	Jakov Blažević Đuro Kladarin Milan Mišković
Succeeded by	Mika Špiljak
5th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament[a]
In office December 1953 – December 1963
Prime Minister	Jakov Blažević Zvonko Brkić Mika Špiljak
Preceded by	Zlatan Sremec
Succeeded by	Ivan Krajačić
President of the Executive Council of the People's Republic of Croatia
In office 14 April 1945 – 18 December 1953
President	Vladimir Nazor Karlo-Gašpar Mrazović Vicko Krstulović Zlatan Sremec
Preceded by	Pavle Gregorić (as Minister for Croatia)
Succeeded by	Jakov Blažević
Secretary of the League of Communists of Croatia
In office 1948 – May 1969
President	Vladimir Nazor Karlo-Gašpar Mrazović Vicko Krstulović Zlatan Sremec Himself Ivan Krajačić Jakov Blažević
Prime Minister	Himself Jakov Blažević Zvonko Brkić Mika Špiljak Savka Dabčević-Kučar
Preceded by	Andrija Hebrang
Succeeded by	Savka Dabčević-Kučar
Personal details
Born	(1912-03-08)8 March 1912 Velika Gorica, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary (now Croatia)
Died	16 January 1983(1983-01-16) (aged 70) Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Croatian
Political party	League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ)
^a The Speaker of the Parliament was the head of state of SR Croatia between 6 February 1953 and 8 May 1974.

Bakarić helped to organise the partisan resistance in the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. From 1948 to 1969, he was the chairman of the League of Communists of Croatia and as such was a close collaborator of President Josip Broz Tito. Even after stepping down from the top post in communist hierarchy in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, he retained much influence and was even considered to be the most influential politician in Croatia.

Together with Edvard Kardelj, he belonged to the more liberal wing of the Yugoslav political elite and was known for his statement on the need to "federate the federation" (federiranje federacije), a reference to the struggle between Yugoslav unitarists, who advocated giving more powers to the central government, and federalists, who wanted to shift power to the republics. However, Bakarić was usually extremely careful in his public pronouncements on policy and wary of radical statements.